A Northumbria Police trainer pursued sexual relationships with nine student officers and had sex with one of them. PC Peter Miller sent inappropriate messages or made comments and calls to the female officers. A misconduct hearing heard that one student reported feeling "uncomfortable, freaked out and almost degraded".
Sexual relationship with student officer
Another student officer reciprocated, and PC Miller had a sexual relationship with them. They kissed during one meeting before later having consensual sex at his home on two further occasions. PC Miller, who had over 20 years of experience as a police officer, pursued the sexual relationship by messaging her privately and then flirting with her.
The panel found that he also used his position as a student trainer to offer her favourable treatment at work. She later reported feeling "manipulated, upset and used" and felt she had been the weak one picked by PC Miller.
Covid restrictions and defence
The hearing heard that coronavirus restrictions were in place during their meetings at his home in December 2020. PC Miller said he was in a "bubble" with the officer at the time, which provided a legitimate exemption under the regulations.
The former officer, who no longer works for the force, did not dispute the facts of the messages, calls, or comments or that he was responsible for them. He said he was merely being friendly, wasn't flirtatious, and wasn't doing it in pursuit of sexual relationships.
Panel findings and outcome
The panel, chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Alastair Simpson, found that PC Miller deliberately and repeatedly sent messages to female student officers with the intention of pursuing sexual relationships. They found his pattern of behaviour involved seeking contact on private social media, commencing conversations, and graduating towards flirtatious messaging which offered a clear message to the student officers that PC Miller would welcome a relationship.
They found he sent inappropriate messages and this was an abuse of his position given that he was in a position of authority as one of the student officer's trainers. The hearing heard how he knew that he should not be in relationships with student officers. He told one officer that he wasn't allowed to talk to students and told another that he would get sacked if anyone knew he was chatting to her on a dating website.
ACC Simpson recorded: "In the role of student officer trainer, he was a key role model as an experienced police officer and one of the first contacts student officers had as police officers. He had a responsibility as a student officer trainer to set the standards of professional behaviour and compliance with the code of ethics. Specifically, he had a responsibility for the welfare of his students and the training of officers, including training on the Code of Ethics and the Standards of Professional Behaviour."
PC Miller, who did not attend the hearing, did not dispute the facts in relation to his sexual relationship with the student officer. He said there was no conflict of interest as the relationship was nothing to do with work. The panel found that PC Miller was aware that the relationship should not have taken place. They accepted the evidence of the officer that she was vulnerable to his advances as a new student.
The panel decided there was no definitive evidence to disprove PC Miller's account that he was in a bubble with the officer during the covid-19 restrictions. The panel found that PC Miller breached the standards of professional behaviour for discreditable conduct and his conduct amounted to gross misconduct. They concluded that he would have been dismissed had he still been a member of the police force. He will be placed on the Police Barred List.
