A police officer who removed a burglar’s electronic tag to engage in a secret sexual relationship with him has been sentenced to jail. Natasha Conneely was a member of a Bedfordshire Police unit responsible for managing offenders in May 2023 when the affair came to light. The force’s professional standards department discovered messages exchanged between the two. An investigation uncovered that Conneely had tampered with the offender’s electronic tag in April to allow him to visit her residence without detection, and she also ensured that his movements were not being monitored. Furthermore, Conneely was found to have spent a night with the burglar in a Leeds hotel in June. She pleaded guilty to a charge of corrupt or other improper exercise of police powers and privileges, violating Section 26 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015. Conneely received an 18-month prison sentence at St Albans Crown Court on Friday. Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst emphasized that such behavior has no place in law enforcement. He noted that Conneely was part of a team tasked with managing the risk posed by offenders through tagging and other strategies to prevent reoffending and aid in their reintegration into society. Rodenhurst expressed concern that engaging in a sexual relationship with an offender was highly inappropriate, and Conneely’s actions could have allowed the offender to commit further crimes without any safeguards in place. He criticized her conduct as falling well below expected standards and endangering the integrity of the offender management system, ultimately betraying the efforts of her colleagues and departments dedicated to community safety.
Bedfordshire Police disclosed that Conneely resigned from her position, and a tribunal in November 2023 determined that her conduct amounted to gross misconduct, leading to her hypothetical dismissal if she had not already left. Consequently, Conneely was added to the College of Policing’s Barred List, preventing her from reentering the law enforcement field.
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