PC kept job after sending vulnerable woman flirty texts

The force has sacked seven officers for inappropriate sexual contact with witnesses and crime victims since 2018

A vulnerable woman says she no longer trusts the police after being repeatedly inappropriately contacted by an officer she called to help her.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary gave the man a final written warning after she complained about the "flirty" texts.

The force has sacked seven officers - the highest number nationally - for inappropriate sexual contact with witnesses and crime victims since 2018.

Sarah Crew, the force's chief constable, apologised for the incident.

The woman contacted police after becoming suicidal following the breakdown of a relationship with a man who coercively controlled her.

She said a pair of officers came to her house and while one of them spoke to her ex-partner - the other became "very friendly".

Over the following days that officer repeatedly contacted the woman and "the messages became more and more flirty" with him "commenting on my appearance, telling me that it was my ex-partner's loss".

Figures from the force show five other officers resigned before they could be dismissed

He also asked which gym she trained in and if he could follow her on social media, which she said she reluctantly agreed to.

The officer later began contacting the woman's ex-partner which she said "made the situation worse" and prompted another visit by a different pair of police officers.

At this point she complained to Avon and Somerset Police about him and claims the officers who attended the second time thought she was "probably lying" until she showed them the messages.

"He'd been sending them from his work phone which was completely inappropriate so they took screen shots and they told me they'd go back to the station and report it," she said.

However she says she had not received an apology for the incident until the chief constable's comments on Tuesday.

'Predatory behaviour'

The woman said: "I was quite confident that he would be removed from the force because it was in black and white. There were messages and how he'd behaved was completely inappropriate.

"Then I received a very disappointing email after the full investigation - that he'd been found guilty of misconduct and given a final warning. To this day I've never had an apology.

"I don't think they've accepted that anything was wrong and the only thing that happened was that they removed him from my local area because I said every time I'm out and about I feel anxious when I see a police car.

"I'm scared he's going to do this to another female because, in my opinion, if you have this sort of predatory behaviour why are you going to stop at one person?"

Speaking to BBC Points West, Ms Crew said that "the harm that she suffered, the impact it has had on her, I'm willing to say sorry about this.

"That's not our intention."

She said that the case was taken "very seriously" when it was reported to the force. It was referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) which found the officer had committed gross misconduct.

At a police disciplinary hearing, arranged by the force, the panel choose not to dismiss the officer and she said she "had to respect that".

She explained the officer will be subject to re-vetting and very close supervision.

As well as the seven sacked officers, five others resigned before they could be dismissed during the last five years, figures from the force show.

Jemima Olchawski, from charity Fawcett Society which campaigns for gender equality and women's rights, said police officers have "incredible power and status".

They are "also a group of people that is coming into contact with women at moments of real vulnerability and trauma and it's really important that that isn't exploited", she added.

'Abuses' position

Mark Loker, chair of Avon and Somerset Police Federation, said the revelations were "disappointing" but the force was "treating this with the utmost seriousness and severity and the confidence that can come from this".

He added: "Is that the number [of officers dismissed for inappropriate sexual contact] is high because we're identifying it internally, and we're actually dealing with the matter that unfolds because of these officers perpetrating in the manner that they have?"

"Any time an officer abuses the authority and position that we hold, then they should be treated accordingly after a thorough investigation," he said.