Peter Nightingale, the Secretary of West Mercia Police Federation responsible for representing around 2,400 officers, had allegations of gross misconduct proven after a disciplinary panel concluded he acted dishonestly over overtime and on-call payment claims.
Nightingale, one of the most senior elected figures within the West Mercia Police Federation, appeared before a two-day misconduct hearing in May.
The panel found breaches of the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Honesty and Integrity and Discreditable Conduct proven.
The case centred on an overtime shift worked on 9 December 2023. Although the panel accepted that Nightingale did not deliberately submit the same overtime claim three times, an IT issue resulted in him receiving an overpayment worth £963.04 gross, or £593.95 after deductions.
Panel members concluded that Nightingale knew, or should have known, he had been overpaid and dishonestly failed to report the mistake.
The hearing also examined claims made for Police Federation on-call duties between August 2023 and August 2024.
Nightingale was rostered to cover 104 on-call sessions. However, the panel found he had claimed payment for six sessions he did not cover and had also submitted a duplicate claim relating to another session.
Throughout the proceedings, Nightingale insisted he had not acted dishonestly.
In a lengthy personal statement, he highlighted a policing career spanning almost two decades and described a record of public service, leadership and community involvement.
The sergeant told the panel he had previously worked as a professional footballer before joining West Mercia Police in 2005 and had gone on to serve in a range of specialist and supervisory roles including dog handler, custody sergeant, patrol supervisor, temporary inspector and Police Federation representative.
He pointed to commendations, charity fundraising, community engagement work and a previously unblemished disciplinary record.
Nightingale said: “We are not wealthy but are comfortable and have savings with absolutely no motivation to act dishonestly.”
He also told the panel he had worked hundreds of unpaid hours during his policing career and would not risk everything for the relatively small sums involved.
“I knew the consequences of police officers being dishonest,” he said.
“I would not destroy my police career by claiming for six on-call sessions that I had not worked.”
The hearing was told that Nightingale had represented officers facing misconduct investigations and regularly dealt with sensitive disciplinary matters as part of his Federation role.
He argued that any discrepancies were the result of genuine mistakes, confusion surrounding force systems and longstanding IT problems.
Referring to the force’s payroll guidance, Nightingale told the hearing that the policy was “written by a three-year-old” and criticised the systems used to submit claims.
He also maintained that he did not realise he had been overpaid, telling investigators that he had worked several overtime shifts during the same period and had been expecting additional money in his wages.
However, the panel rejected his explanations.
In its written decision, the panel said it did not find Nightingale to be a credible witness.
Members found that his evidence changed during questioning and that aspects of his account were inconsistent with the documentary evidence presented during the hearing.
While the panel accepted the many character references submitted on his behalf and acknowledged his previous good record, it concluded that the allegations had been proven.
The finding is likely to prove particularly damaging, given Nightingale’s position as Secretary of the West Mercia Police Federation, a role that involves representing and supporting officers facing disciplinary investigations and misconduct proceedings.
