Veteran police investigator helped wanted boyfriend lie low for a month

Kelly Morris helped her short-term partner David Proctor lie low when he was wanted over a violent attack which left a man with serious face injuries on July 6 last year.

Morris, aged 43, drove 27-year-old Proctor to hotels and exchanged more than 300 texts with him over a month before they were both caught.

Her car was stopped on August 5 where she was arrested by West Mercia Police officers. Proctor managed to flee but was caught the next day.

Police had issued an image of Proctor in an effort to track him down and Morris, who had worked with the force for 19 years, knew he was wanted.

Morris, from Redditch, admitted assisting an offender and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months, at Worcester Crown Court last Friday.

She was also required to carry out 40 days of rehabilitation activities and 100 hours of unpaid work.

Morris was dismissed from West Midlands Police by the force's chief constable, Sir David Thompson, at an internal panel hearing on December 2.

Morris' most recent role was as an investigator with the Criminal Investigation Department, based at West Midlands Police's headquarters in Lloyd House.

Chief Superintendent Dave Twyford, who heads up the force's professional standards department, said Morris made a big error of judgement with her misplaced loyalty to a suspect.

He said: "Morris knew Proctor was sought, she witnessed the assault, but actively helped him avoid arrest.

"Assisting an offender is a serious crime and Morris has now paid a heavy price for her actions.

"We expect the highest standards of professionalism from all our officers and staff: anyone found to have committed such a serious criminal offence can expect to be dismissed from the force and never work in policing again."

The incident involving Proctor is a West Mercia Police case. That force has been contacted for further information.