Police officer who stalked colleague barred from profession
A Leicestershire Police officer who stalked a female colleague has been barred from the profession. John Stuart Clough tracked the woman for almost a year, and used force systems to trace her location.
His actions included going to incidents the woman was attending as she carried out her work as an officer, without him having any reason to be there. Clough, of Leicestershire, also persistently messaged the woman, all while in his role with the force. The 51-year-old committed the offences between November 2022 and September 2023, the force said, and continued the behaviour despite initially apologising for his actions.
Clough, who resigned from Leicestershire Police in March this year, had earlier admitted stalking offences and a computer misuse charge. He appeared before Northampton Crown Court on Thursday, August 8, where he was handed a 22-month jail term, and a five-year restraining order was issued against him. A misconduct hearing was then held this month by Leicestershire Police, with Chief Constable Rob Nixon ruling Clough should be placed on the police barred list.
READ MORE: Leicestershire Police officer accused of sharing corpse pictures enters pleas
The hearing report states that Clough’s actions would not only have had a “significant impact on the victim”, who is still a serving police officer, but would also have a further “significant impact” on “public confidence” in the force. His behaviour was described as “deliberate, intentional and targeted”. The fact he used police systems to “facilitate his offending” was considered by the force to be a further aggravating factor
Clough had served for more than 15 years, and had received “various acknowledgements” during that time. However, Mr Nixon ruled that neither Clough's past service, nor his “early guilty plea”, could be considered as mitigation in the case, due to the “serious nature of the misconduct”.
Mr Nixon added: “His conduct undermines the reputation of the force and is a disservice to the significant number of hard working police professionals who, day in day out, provide an outstanding service to the public, which is overshadowed by misconduct of this nature. Not to mention the long lasting impact this will have on the victim.”
Had Clough still been a serving officer, he would have been dismissed without notice. Mr Nixon said: “Stalking offences of this nature understandably cause much distress to the victim. Despite being informed of the harm he was causing, Clough continued his behaviour rather than seeking advice or help.
“We will not tolerate this type of offending both in force or in our communities and will take action against it. I thank the victim for her trust in reporting this to us and allowing us to help and support her throughout.”
He added: “I urge anyone who is a victim of stalking to speak with us. If you don’t feel ready to speak with police, then please speak with someone else who can help you. There are organisations who can help provide advice and support to you.”