PSNI constable dismissed over sexual misconduct and 'catalogue of corruption'

A Northern Ireland police officer has been sacked after a two-year ombudsman inquiry found he exploited vulnerable women and attempted to falsify evidence.

PSNI constable dismissed following ombudsman inquiry into sexual abuse of position

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) constable has been dismissed without notice after an investigation by the Police Ombudsman found he initiated a sexual relationship with a woman he encountered through his official duties, Google News IE — Crime (en) reports.

The inquiry, which took investigators almost two years to complete, also established that the officer — identified throughout proceedings as Police Officer B — failed to disclose multiple conflicts of interest, intimidated a former partner, attempted to falsify evidence, and asked a colleague to lie on his behalf.

Police Ombudsman Jacqui Durkin described the conduct as a "catalogue of corruption" that had "the potential to do serious damage to public trust and confidence in policing". She added there was "no place for him, or any other officer, in the PSNI who misconducts himself in this way."

"This should send out a clear message to any other officers who may be involved in that type of behaviour that the consequences are that you will be dismissed," Durkin said.

Case originated in 2018 assault allegation

The case began in 2018 when a woman, referred to as Woman A, made an assault allegation against another woman, Woman B. Woman B subsequently lodged a counter-allegation. Police Officer A, who was assigned to investigate the incident, tasked Police Officer B with taking a statement from Woman B.

Police Officer B did not disclose that he had previously been in a sexual relationship with Woman A in 2016 and remained in social contact with her. Within 24 hours of meeting Woman B to take her statement, he had reached out to her via Facebook and Snapchat and begun a sexual relationship with her. The two subsequently moved in together and had a child before their relationship ended in early 2020.

Threatening letter and intimate images

The investigation extended to a further incident in 2021. A woman who had been in a relationship with Police Officer B reported receiving an anonymous threatening letter, sent shortly after he had been made aware he was under investigation for his conduct with vulnerable women.

The letter contained an intimate photograph of the woman along with threats that further images would be sent to her family. The only person she had shared the photograph with was Police Officer B, her former partner. Two weeks before the letter arrived, she had also received a phone notification indicating he had downloaded all images she had shared with him.

When investigators examined his phone, it was found to contain 51 images of the woman, including intimate photographs similar to the one delivered anonymously by post.

No prosecution, but dismissal upheld

Following the conclusion of the Police Ombudsman's inquiry, a file was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service. In October 2024, the service issued a no-prosecution decision.

A PSNI misconduct hearing held in April found that Police Officer B had breached the PSNI Code of Ethics. The panel dismissed him without notice. He is the seventh officer to be dismissed as a result of Police Ombudsman investigations into abuse of position for sexual purposes (APSP) since 2020. A further officer in a related matter received a written final warning.

Durkin noted that APSP cases currently account for 36% of the most serious cases under investigation by the Police Ombudsman's Office.

Calls for legislative reform

Durkin said she hopes the new Public Office (Accountability) Bill, currently before parliament, will create a specific misconduct-in-public-office offence. She also welcomed the Justice Bill making its way through the Northern Ireland Assembly, which she said would "fast track some of those cases so that we would no longer have to wait until the conclusion of a decision to prosecute."

Under such a framework, she explained, where there is "clear evidence of misconduct", police could decide whether to dismiss an officer on the basis of the evidence-led ombudsman investigation alone, without waiting for a prosecution decision.

"Where you have predatory police officers, it's important that victims or complainants can be assured of evidence-led, impartial and independent investigation," Durkin said.

PSNI: 'Trust must never be abused'

Chief Superintendent Stephen Murray, head of the PSNI's professional standards department, said the misconduct identified was "unacceptable and clearly falls far below the standards the public rightly expects, at all times, from police officers and staff."

"Police officers are entrusted with significant powers and responsibilities. That trust must never be abused for personal or sexual gain," Murray said.

He added that the dismissal without notice reflected how seriously the organisation viewed such matters, and "reinforces our position that there is no place for corruption or abuse of position for sexual purposes in policing."

Durkin, for her part, described the investigation as "very complex" and "multi-stranded", and said the officer, a constable "of some experience", had been found guilty of "one of the most serious types of police corruption".

Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)