Nottinghamshire Police officer sacked for sexting female driver

The police officer questioned the woman when he was off-duty, driving home from a night shift

A police officer has been dismissed after he attempted to form a sexual relationship with a female driver he questioned when he was off-duty.

The officer, who worked for Nottinghamshire Police, started talking to her by saying he was concerned about her driving.

He then sent sexual messages to the woman, who was considered to be vulnerable, for months.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said he abused his position.

Derrick Campbell, regional director for the IOPC, said: "The abuse of police powers for purposes of sexual exploitation is a form of serious corruption.

"It has a devastating impact on victims, and a serious impact on the public's confidence in individual officers and the service in general. It is critical there are effective systems in place to prevent, monitor and deal swiftly with any individual who exploits that trust."

'Sexual nature'

The officer, who has not been named by the IOPC, had been travelling home from a night shift in February 2020 when he stopped his car near to a roundabout in Nottingham.

The IOPC said it was "not clear whether he made her [the woman] stop or not".

He then identified himself to the woman as an off-duty police officer and spoke to her, but did not take any action over the alleged driving offence.

The IOPC said he then sent her "messages of a personal and sexual nature" up to May 2020, which he did "in an attempt to form a relationship". These included texts, WhatsApp and Snapchat messages.

How common are cases like this?

The IOPC said 394 referrals where "abuse of power for sexual gain" was a factor have been made in two years.

Of these, 106 were serious enough to be investigated independently by the IOPC.

IOPC Director General Michael Lockwood called for policing to change, particularly following the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by off-duty police officer Wayne Couzens.

"A police culture that allows racist, misogynistic or homophobic behaviour to exist is not one we can trust," he said.

"Our work highlights that police officers falling below the standards of behaviour expected are not one-off events, nor can they be dismissed as being an isolated 'bad apple'."

The police officer sent personal and sexual messages to the woman for months

The police watchdog began investigating in December 2020 and in July, it submitted a report to Nottinghamshire Police, saying the officer should face gross misconduct proceedings for attempting to form "an inappropriate, emotional and/or sexual relationship" with a member of the public.

Gross misconduct was found proven at a hearing before the force's chief constable, and the officer was dismissed without notice.

He will also be placed on the College of Policing list of former officers who are barred from working for the police.

Mr Campbell added the dismissal was "exactly the sanction officers should expect to receive and sends a clear message that this behaviour has no part in policing".

Chief Constable Craig Guildford, who dismissed the officer, said: "Nottinghamshire Police expects the highest standards of professional conduct from its officers at all times, whether they are on or off duty.

"There is no place in policing for anyone who seeks to use their position for sexual gain and I commend both the force Professional Standards Department and the IOPC for their diligent investigations."