A FORMER Essex Police officer has been found to have committed gross misconduct at a special hearing.

At an accelerated misconduct hearing held at Essex Police headquarters in Chelmsford on Tuesday 30 June, chaired by Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, former PC Shane Wills was found to have committed gross misconduct after he failed to record an allegation of crime and investigate the domestic-related assault in May 2025.

At the conclusion of the hearing, his conduct was proven to breach multiple areas of the Standards of Professional Behaviour, including honesty & integrity, orders & instructions, duties & responsibilities, and conduct.

He had not been found to have breached the standard of equality & diversity.

The Chief Constable found that the former officer, who had already resigned, would have been dismissed if he was still serving.

Chief Constable Harrington said: "When someone reports a crime to us, I expect every officer in this force to do their job and properly investigate it and support victims of crime.

"This is particularly the case with domestic offences because we all know the harm that can be caused and the courage it takes for victims to come forward.

"Tackling violence against women and girls is a force priority and takes a team effort. This officer let the whole team down by deliberately failing to record the offence and avoid investigating it. More importantly, they let the victim down and damaged trust in the force.

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"The public rightly expects us to help them when they need it, not ignore their concerns or avoid their duties.

"I take this kind of behaviour very seriously and will hold people accountable."