All have been found guilty of driving offences

EXCLUSIVE

Five police officers in Brent have criminal convictions, the Times can reveal.

All were found guilty of driving offences, including drink-driving and careless driving, and received their convictions while serving as officers in the borough.

‘Laws’

Nick Scarlett, a spokesman for national road safety charity Brake, described the figures in the borough as “disappointing”.

He said: “Traffic laws are there to protect the public from harm by preventing deadly and devastating crashes.

“It is disappointing to see that some police officers have convictions for driving offences, as police officers set an example to their fellow drivers.”

The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, also revealed that the officers were either fined or given a warning but not suspended or stripped of their duties.

Mr Scarlett added: “While all drivers have a responsibility to ensure they are fit to drive and obey the laws of the road, it is especially concerning when police officers risk lives by breaking laws on roads.”

Police bosses were only able to reveal offences clocked up in the past 10 years due to “cost limits”.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Service, (MPS) said: “The MPS is unable to provide the number of police officers that have a criminal conviction prior to January 1 2002.

“Whilst this information is held by the MPS it is not recorded in a format that enables it to be retrieved within the cost limit set out by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Act.”

Other offences incurred included driving with an overladen vehicle and driving while using a mobile phone.

A spokesman for the Met Police said: “There are currently more than 600 police officers based in Brent therefore the five officers, who have received a conviction during the past ten years, represents an exceedingly small proportion of the workforce.

“Where an officer has received a conviction for a criminal offence the MPS will review that officer’s fitness for the responsibilities of their rank or as a member of the police service.”