Two more Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers have resigned after internal investigations found them guilty of gross misconduct for contacting sex workers without a legitimate policing purpose. Sergeant Liam Smith and another officer, referred to only as 'Former Officer A', left GMP ahead of separate disciplinary hearings.
Latest Departures in Ongoing Investigation
The pair are the latest among 10 GMP officers who have left the force for contacting sex workers without a legitimate policing purpose. The 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 on duty.
Sergeant Smith made a series of contacts with sex workers while both on and off duty. While off duty on August 3, 2024, he used his work mobile to contact an adult sex worker on three occasions, making two voice calls and sending a text, his disciplinary hearing was told.
Details of Misconduct
The following month, on September 25, he again used his GMP device to call another number attributed to an adult sex worker while on duty just before midnight. Smith was also said to have used his GMP mobile to research six numbers of sex workers even though there was 'no policing purpose'.
The officer did not attend the hearing or respond to the allegations, which were found to be 'proven', according to Assistant Chief Officer Catherine Hankinson, who chaired the disciplinary hearing. Finding him guilty of gross misconduct, the senior officer said his behaviour was 'most likely for sexual gratification'. Smith 'should have known that what he was doing was wrong and improper', she said.
Consequences and Barred List
Hankinson concluded the officer would have been sacked had he not already resigned. Smith's name has been added to the College of Policing's 'barred list', meaning he cannot return to any role in policing.
In a separate disciplinary hearing the following day, 'Former Officer A' was also found guilty of gross misconduct for contact with sex workers. No reason was provided for anonymising the officer's identity or failing to state his rank.
Chief Constable's Remarks
The cop also failed to attend the hearing or respond to allegations that he used his GMP mobile 12 times to contact five numbers attributed to adult sex workers between June 11, 2019 and June 28, 2022 while off duty. The numbers appeared on ads for sex workers. All the allegations were found to be 'proven'.
Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson, who chaired the hearing, said: "It is well known, particularly amongst experienced police officers, that adult sex workers are frequently vulnerable people with complex needs who are often exploited by criminal third parties. That the former officer wilfully engaged in such contact, ran the obvious risk of perpetuating the vulnerability of their contacts. Self-evidently, the police are here to safeguard vulnerable people not to add to the misery of their existence."
