Police convicted of 70 crimes a year

Police across the West Midlands were convicted of more than 70 crimes last year – including 38 speeding offences, it emerged today.

There were 540 allegations of misconduct against West Midlands Police staff, including 28 calling their "honesty and integrity" into doubt. Sixty-five allegations were over performance, while 130 were about general conduct. Four allegations over sobriety were also made.The figures were in a report for the police authority's professional standards and quality committee.

Most allegations required no further action or were resolved with words of advice. Only 100 resulted in written warnings

The report also reveals the total number of allegations received by the force, which do not automatically result in misconduct hearings, fell by 358 to 2,820.

Wolverhampton police saw the biggest fall in complaints in the force, to 72 from 115 the previous year.

Complaints against officers in the east of the city went up from 46 to 62. West Bromwich complaints fell from 86 to 79, while Smethwick's rose from 75 to 91. Walsall, Bloxwich, Dudley and Brierley Hill's figures remained stable.

The report states: "There has been a steady increase in the amount of complaint cases recorded, however, the number of allegations per case has decreased."

Officers who are complained about more than five times a year have their cases assessed at a meeting of the force's professional standards department.

West Midlands Police spokeswoman Jaspreet Jagdev said: "The fact some individuals are being dealt with via the force's disciplinary and/or criminal justice process demonstrates the organisation's commitment to upholding standards."

West Midlands Police employs nearly 12,500 people including 3,857 police staff, 8,355 officers and 256 community support officers.