A LONG-serving police inspector is facing dismissal from her force after being accused of writing a statement on behalf of a family member.

Inspector Sarah Sanderson will also answer numerous charges over allegedly telling colleagues to have “inappropriate contact with a member of the public”, at a five-day North Yorkshire Police disciplinary hearing starting at the force’s headquarters in Newby Wiske, near Northallerton, on Monday.

Insp Sanderson, who is understood to have led teams of officers for more than a decade in the Hambleton district area, is being accused by the force of gross misconduct.

A police spokesman said: “It is alleged that her conduct amounted to a breach of the standards of professional behaviour, namely a breach of the standard of honesty and integrity, discreditable conduct and orders and instructions.

“The allegations relate to Inspector Sanderson directing police officers to have inappropriate contact with a member of the public who she knew, the drafting of a statement on behalf of a family member, her access to information on the police computer system and her submission of reports to the police.”

The hearing will be among the first the force has held in public, following a move to improve openness and accountability in policing and ensure public confidence being brought in last year.

It will be conducted by a panel of three people, including a legally-qualified chair, a police officer of at least superintendent rank - who has also had no previous dealings with the case - and an independent lay person who has been selected from an approved list held by Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan.

If Insp Sanderson is found to have committed gross misconduct possible outcomes include dismissal with or without notice, written warning or management advice.

Police inspectors, whose salaries are generally in the £50,000 region, are directly concerned with day-to-day policing and are responsible for supervising duty shifts, or act in specialist roles.