Greater Manchester Police sergeant sacked over 'no purpose' checks

Chief Constable Stephen Watson said Proctor's "offending behaviour was simply unacceptable"

A sergeant who made checks on people he knew for no policing purpose and shared the "very sensitive data" he gathered with a third party has dismissed.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said Sgt Richard Proctor was barred from policing after it was found his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct.

The force said Proctor had apologised and admitted he had "made a mistake".

Chief Constable Stephen Watson said Proctor's actions were "deliberate and persistent".

A force representative said Proctor had faced disciplinary action after he admitted three offences under the Computer Misuse Act and Data Protection Act at Manchester Magistrates' Court in September 2022.

The court was told Proctor conducted nine checks on people who were known or of interest to him with no policing purpose and went on to share the resulting information with a third party on 22 occasions.

He was fined £400.

'Flagrant disregard'

He subsequently faced GMP disciplinary proceedings and was dismissed after "behaviour amounting to gross misconduct was proven during an accelerated misconduct hearing", the force representative said.

Following the hearing, Mr Watson said that after Proctor accepted he "breached the standards of professional behaviour, namely discreditable conduct and confidentiality", the "only appropriate disciplinary outcome" was dismissal without notice.

He said Proctor's actions were "deliberate and persistent" and the information the officer disclosed "included very sensitive data and breached the personal privacy of the subjects of this data".

"Sgt Proctor's offending behaviour was simply unacceptable," he added.

Supt Phil Duffy, who works in GMP's professional standards branch, added that under Mr Watson's leadership, the force had "upped the ante in 'rooting out and booting out corruption'".

"The decision of the chief constable to dismiss Proctor is a prime example of the robust action we are committed to take against those who damage our relationship with the public," he added.

"Proctor displayed a flagrant disregard to both GMP policy and legislation and in doing so, [he damaged] the vital public trust and confidence that the overwhelming majority of our officers and staff work extremely hard to maintain."