A Kent police officer has been dismissed after misconduct findings that he lied about the location of a violent offender’s arrest and failed to safeguard six children who were at the home. The officer told a custody sergeant he had “just come across” the wanted man in the street, despite detaining him at the back door of his house. During the arrest on February 7, the children were at home. The officer “engaged with them while inside the property”. The custody panel also found the officer did not make a safeguarding referral to social services, as he was duty-bound to do because the children were known to authorities as “children in need”. The hearing heard that, at the offender’s insistence, the officer agreed not to make the referral and instead provided incorrect information about where the arrest happened. When the custody sergeant asked where the man was arrested, the officer replied that they had “just come across him in the street”, adding that the man was detained because he was wanted on recall to prison. A misconduct panel chaired by Assistant Chief Officer Andy Pritchard found the officer was dishonest and that his actions left the children insufficiently protected. The panel accepted the officer admitted the breaches and showed insight, and it was said he had remediated through experience in a child-centred policing team. Kent Police’s Professional Standards said the officer’s actions could have delayed child safeguarding procedures, and he breached honesty and integrity standards expected of officers. He was dismissed without notice and added to the barred list. The Kent Police officer was moved into a role within the child-centred policing team while the investigation progressed, but it did not involve contact with members of the public.