Police officer sacked after harassment conviction

Thames Valley Police's assistant chief constable said retaining Virgo would "compromise" standards

A police officer who was given a community order after harassing a man when he ended their relationship has been sacked.

PC Miriam Virgo, who worked for Thames Valley Police (TVP) from Reading, made a series of phone calls and sent anonymous threatening messages, the force said.

She was ordered to carry out 35 days of unpaid work, obey an eight-week curfew and wear an electronic tag when she was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court in February.

TVP's Assistant Chief Constable Christian Bunt said retaining Virgo "would not uphold high standards but would compromise them".

He told an accelerated misconduct hearing he had considered if giving her a final written warning or reducing her rank would "adequately account" for the "seriousness" of her offending.

But Mr Bunt said they would not.

"The public cannot have confidence in a police service where serving officers behave as PC Virgo has done, and continue to hold the officer of constable," he added.

In a notice published on Wednesday, Mr Bunt said "the only appropriate and proportionate sanction" was that Virgo be dismissed without notice.