Warwickshire police officer sacked after explicit and indecent images found on their phones

A SERVING police officer has been sacked after they were found to have explicit images on their work phone as well as indecent images taken in the workplace on their own phone.

Warwickshire Police said the PC was dismissed for multiple breaches of professional standards following a hearing at Stratford police station on 3rd and 4th April.

The officer cannot be named following an agreement between the PC and the police. The force also refused an application to lift the restrictions on the grounds of protecting children involved in the case and preventing “unacceptable risk to their identity being revealed”.

At the hearing, chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Claire Armes, the allegation of gross misconduct was found to be proven and the standards expected of officers had been breached.

The former officer has also been placed on the barred list by the College of Policing.

Det Supt Paul Thompson said: “We welcome this decision and although it has been a lengthy investigation, it’s ultimately one with the correct outcome.

“We will always seek out and investigate officers where we believe there have been potential breaches of the standards of professional behaviour we expect.

"We understand behaviour of this nature completely discredits the police service and the officer in this instance fell a long way short of the standards we would expect in our organisation.

“However, I would like to emphasise that the vast majority of officers and staff in Warwickshire go to work every day to make a difference and protect the community.

"We hope the public can take confidence from today’s outcome knowing that we will deal robustly with any wrongdoing and take action accordingly.”

The officer was originally suspended in 2020 and a referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) as part of a larger investigation involving the officer and other parties, Warwickshire Police said.

Following the conclusion of the investigation in early 2023, Warwickshire Police said it conducted a further investigation which ended in December last year and led to last week’s hearing.

The outcome of the hearing is subject to appeal.