Another Greater Manchester Police officer has left the force after contacting sex workers at least a dozen times from his work phone for no policing purpose.
An accelerated misconduct hearing held online on Friday (October 30) heard that former Detective Sergeant Philip Greenwood would have been dismissed without notice from the force had he not left the previous day.
Eleventh officer to leave in sex worker cases
The former DS is now the eleventh GMP officer to leave the force in a string of cases relating to contacting sex workers without a legitimate policing purpose. The force's Anti-Corruption Unit investigation was triggered by the case of Inspector Toby Knight, who scheduled hundreds of meetings with sex workers on his force-issued phone, including some while he was on duty.
During the latest hearing on October 30, DS Greenwood did not attend. The hearing heard that he had contacted adult sex workers at least 12 times between November 2019 and May 2022 from his work mobile while both on and off duty, with no policing purpose.
Officer denies allegations in resignation letter
In a letter to the hearing, DS Greenwood denied the allegations and said his resignation was not to be interpreted as an admission of guilt. The hearing was told that he contended he had an explanation for the contact alleged, but had chosen not to divulge it as it was sensitive.
The former officer was described as an experienced detective of previous good character who was well aware of the potential for sex workers to be exploited, vulnerable or linked to crime.
Panel finds gross misconduct proven
Panel chair Jonathan Roy said the allegations were proven by extensive and incontrovertible evidence and constituted gross misconduct, for which he would have been dismissed without notice had he not resigned.
Roy said the former officer was wholly responsible for his own actions, which were very clearly intentional, deliberate and targeted toward adult sex workers. He said Greenwood was solely responsible for using his police mobile device to make repeated calls both on and off duty with no policing purpose, and that his conduct deviated from guidance of which he was, or ought to have been, well aware.
It was not alleged that any actual harm had occurred, but the potential for harm, including to the reputation of policing, should have been perfectly obvious to former DS Greenwood. His conduct would undermine the public's confidence in GMP and the wider service, the report continued, with a significant negative impact on the confidence of women and girls in policing, particularly regarding the on-duty conduct of male police officers.
The behaviour of FDS Greenwood was a tangible breach of the trust placed in him both by GMP and the public he was supposed to serve as a police officer, especially a cohort of many vulnerable women who have every right to expect a higher standard of behaviour from officers. His conduct was totally unacceptable and in no way befitting of a police officer.
