PC Jennifer Howat also accessed confidential records linked to an ex-partner but now the woman won’t work again for Kent Police, who said she committed “gross misconduct”
A dishonest police officer carried out shifts in a pub while off sick, a misconduct panel has heard.
PC Jennifer Howat will no longer work for any force again after the panel deemed her behaviour to be that of “gross misconduct”. She was found to have worked at The Red Lion in Biddenden, near Tenterden, Kent, on days she had reported herself too ill for duty.
And PC Howat also accessed her ex-partner’s details on both the Police National Computer and Athena systems without a legitimate policing purpose. An accelerated misconduct hearing this week concluded the allegations amounted to gross misconduct and ruled she would have been dismissed without notice had she not already resigned.
PC Howat, who had worked for Kent Police for more than 11 years, described her behaviour as “out of character” and said, following the complaint, she has been diagnosed with complex PTSD.
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PC Howat had worked a paid shift at the pub on December 10, 2025, while recorded as absent through sickness. It was also established at the hearing she had worked another shift on the previous Monday, which was also a day she had been off sick.
The misconduct report states: “PC Howat has acted dishonestly in representing that she was too sick to work when in fact she was in paid employment elsewhere.
“She has acted discreditably in undermining the reputation of Kent Police having been paid by the public purse to perform the office of constable but simultaneously been working for paid employment elsewhere.”
The panel, headed by Assistant Chief Officer Andrew Pritchard, also noted evidence from the pub’s landlord suggested she had worked occasional shifts there before December 2025.
The ruling added: “Given that the landlord describes her having worked on occasional shifts for some time before December 2025 it is quite likely that further incidences had occurred or would have continue to occur had there not have been an intervention by the Professional Standards Department.”
Speaking after the hearing, Detective Superintendent Jo Lay, from Kent Police’s professional standards department, said after the hearing: “We expect our officers to discharge their duty to protect the public from crime, in a diligent and professional manner.
“Those whose conduct fails to meet these expectations can expect to be held to account. The panel found the case proven to be one of gross misconduct. PC Howat was dismissed without notice.”
PC Howat had not submitted a secondary employment request, despite police regulations requiring officers to declare outside work. In relation to the second allegation, the panel found PC Howat accessed the police records of an ex-partner on April 28, 2024, while a domestic abuse investigation involving the pair was ongoing.
The searches were limited to the “front pages” of the systems, which would have displayed personal biographical information, linked investigation references and warning markers, but not detailed investigation files or wider associations.
The misconduct finding stated there was “no legitimate or lawful purpose” for accessing the information and concluded an officer of her experience would have known the searches were improper.
The report said her “actual intention or motivation” remained unclear. In a written statement submitted ahead of the hearing, PC Howat said she did “not seek to avoid accountability” and accepted she had “made an error”.
She did not clearly state whether she accepted the allegations amounted to gross misconduct. She also described suffering emotional, mental and physical abuse from her partner and referred to the period as “an extremely challenging and traumatic period” in her life.
Speaking after the hearing, PC Howat said she had been diagnosed with complex PTSD, which she said was linked to the relationship and the way she felt her complaint was handled.
She also disputed the suggestion she had treated the pub work as a formal second job, saying she had instead been helping someone she knew while struggling with her mental health.
She said: “Ultimately, it came down to someone who knows me and cares about me, seeing me being at home, spiralling, trying to get me out of the house.”
Addressing the database search, PC Howat said she realised almost immediately she should not have accessed the system. She said: “I made a mistake for 60 seconds because even the timestamp shows it’s like 60 seconds, because I didn’t even look at anything. I put his name in, it came up and I was like, ‘f**k, what are you doing?’, you’re not meant to be doing this. And I came straight off it. I knew at 60 seconds what I was doing was wrong and I logged off.”
Mr Pritchard concluded both allegations were deliberate breaches of professional standards, including honesty and integrity, confidentiality and discreditable conduct.
