A police chief inspector and two detective inspectors are among 14 serving Sussex officers who have criminal convictions.

According to figures revealed to The Argus by Sussex Police, 12 of the cases were driving convictions.

Five officers, including a detective inspector, were convicted of drink-driving and three for driving without due care and attention.

The chief inspector was convicted of speeding, a sergeant failed to report a road traffic accident and a constable was convicted of careless driving.

A sergeant convicted of two counts of common assault and a detective inspector and constable both convicted of criminal damage remain on the force.

Two of the 14 cases took place while the officers were on duty. One constable was convicted of driving without due care and attention and another with careless driving.

An inspector was cautioned for being drunk and incapable.

The figures relate to all officers currently serving with Sussex Police and to convictions which have occurred while they have been employed by the force.

Identities of the individuals were not released but there have been several high profile court cases involving serving Sussex police in the past three years.

In April 2004, PC Nicholas Andrews-Faulkner, of Hassocks, was convicted of careless driving, fined £2,000 and banned from driving for four years.

He was driving his police car along Gatwick Road, Crawley when he hit a Ford Focus. The driver of the Focus, mother-of-two Karen Stagg, 43, of Felbridge, near East Grinstead was killed.

Her 12 year-old son, Phillip, a passenger in the car, suffered a broken arm and concussion.

Andrews-Faulkner has appealed against his sentence and a spokesman for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it would wait for the outcome before deciding whether he would face disciplinary action.

He is currently suspended from the force on full-pay.

In October 2005, PC Ben Coone was convicted of dangerous driving. He re-appeared in court last month after failing to reveal a history of previous convictions when he applied to become a police officer.

He is currently suspended, awaiting a disciplinary hearing.

In 2003, Detective Sergeant Leigh Hardwick, 43, of Furness Road, Eastbourne, was convicted of assaulting three people during a Christmas party in the New Orleans restaurant in Eastbourne in 2001.

The former counter-terrorism officer was initially suspended but in December 2004 won back his job and £40,000 in back pay.

Sussex Police has one of the lowest rates of serving officers with criminal convictions.

Figures show Kent employs 52 officers with convictions, the Metropolitan Police has 74 and Hampshire 30.