ELEVEN police officers have kept their jobs – despite being convicted of crimes since they joined the Essex force.

Figures obtained by the Echo show 19 out of 3,471 serving officers have criminal convictions.

Eight of the officers committed offences before they joined the police. Five others have official police cautions.

Tony Rayner, chairman of the Essex branch of the Police Federation, said the majority of officers would lose their jobs if they were caught breaking the law, but in a few cases some didn’t.

He said: “It is only in very special individual circumstances they will keep their job, after having gone through a full disciplinary process.

“I can think of an officer who found out his wife was having an affair, punched the other man and was convicted of assault.

“A disciplinary tribunal showed compassion and understanding of the situation and he was allowed to remain in his job.”

The Association of Chief Police Officers said officers are subject to the Police and Misconduct Regulations, set down by Government.

The rules allow individual forces to dismiss, reprimand, fine or reduce in rank officers convicted of offences, with the punishment reflecting the severity of the crime.

A new set of regulations is being introduced in December to speed up the process.

Paul West, the association’s spokesman on professional standards said: “Where wrongdoing is alleged, police officers are investigated and action taken as appropriate to each case.

“It should be remembered that there are just over 140,000 police officers in the country, the overwhelming majority of whom serve the public with dedication.”

In January former Basildon Insp Richard Croft was forced to resign from his £55,000-a-year job and jailed for six years for repeatedly sexually abusing a young girl.

Former Basildon PC Darren Griffin quit his post after he was arrested for assaulting his mistress. He was given a nine-month suspended sentence last month.