Disgraced Chesterfield cop would have been sacked if he had not resigned

Former PC Ian Biggin – who owns a Chesterfield children’s play centre – was found guilty of gross misconduct during a two-day hearing at Derbyshire Constabulary Headquarters.

On Friday last week – two days before the start of the hearing on Monday this week – the shamed officer resigned and was not present during proceedings.

A panel heard the ex-constable penned a statement from a victim of a crime which he knew contained “false information” – later updating the police’s Niche records system with “false and deliberately misleading information”.

While he also failed to request CCTV footage which was subsequently overwritten – meaning crucial evidence was lost.

Today Derbyshire Police said: “The hearing heard allegations that former officer PC Biggin conducted himself in a manner that amounted to misconduct.

“Members of the public, as well as the force, expect the highest levels of professionalism from officers and staff and in this instance the former constable did not meet these expectations.

“The hearing decided that - had he not already resigned from his position - that he would have been dismissed.”

The misconduct allegation arose from an incident on a 54 bus in the town centre on January 27 when a woman’s neighbour allegedly called her step father a Polish b****** and physically threatened her.

She gave a detailed account during a 999 call just after the incident and named her abuser, giving his home address - at the same block of flats where she was living with her mother and stepfather.

However police watchdogs heard that during a 13-minute interview at the victim’s home the same day PC Biggin wrote a false account of her evidence on his electronic notebook.

He then asked the woman - referred to as “Witness A” during the proceedings - to sign the statement - which she did - telling her the purpose of the signature was to confirm he had attended.

The notes from Mr Biggin’s electronic notebook, read out to the hearing, read: “Today I was on the bus and overheard a drunk man who had mental health issues.

“I thought I overheard something and shouted at him - I do not want the police to do anything about it.”

It was also said that during the brief visit PC Biggin told the victim - who suggested requesting CCTV footage from Stagecoach bus company - that footage would be “grainy” and would not be of any use.

Stagecoach bus company later confirmed that “no request was ever made” to secure footage from the bus and, as a result, the footage was lost or overwritten.

Caroline Sellars, a solicitor for Derbyshire Police, told the hearing: “The officer deliberately misled Witness A by first asking her to sign the entry without showing her the contents - knowing it contained false information.”

Ms Sellars added: “He knowingly provided false and deliberately misleading information in his update to the incident on Niche that Witness A had wrongly assumed the racial abuse and the witness was mistaken about the identity of the offender.”

During the hearing its main witness told the panel that since the incident she had "accidental" contact with PC Biggin at a children's play centre, which he owns.

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