A Leicestershire Police officer claimed his phone had made calls to sex workers after allegedly letting someone he didn’t know borrow it on a night out, the gross misconduct hearing heard
A Leicestershire Police officer has claimed his mobile made calls to sex workers after he lent it to a stranger during a night out.
A gross misconduct hearing was held at Leicestershire Police’s headquarters in Enderby on Wednesday (November 4), concerning an officer accused of attempting to contact sex workers and being dishonest.
Despite a request from the Local Democracy Reporting Service to prevent the officer from being anonymised, hearing chair Julia Debenham ruled that they would remain anonymous, reports Leicestershire Live.
The officer is the third to face a misconduct hearing for contacting sex workers at Leicestershire Police in less than two months. All three officers have had their identities concealed.
Wednesday’s hearing heard that the officer, who had served in the police since 2004, had six different traces of numbers linked to sex workers on their phone, including WhatsApp chats.
Many of these contacts were connected to well-known websites where sex workers advertise their services, the hearing was told.
Liz Briggs, representing the appropriate authority, told the hearing that because the officer had been “experienced”, they would have known the rules around contacting sex workers.
She added: “The officer is a very experienced officer and will be aware of the vulnerability of individuals associated with being a sex worker.”
It was heard that calls were made on December 8, 2024, to three sex worker contacts after 12am. Shortly after 2am, further calls were made to three additional numbers not stored on the officer’s phone, but which were linked to sex workers.
When asked to explain the calls, the officer claimed they had “unlocked his phone” and “handed it to an individual they didn’t know” during a night out.
Group chat messages recovered from the officer’s phone also revealed suggestions that certain locations should be “deleted” from his Maps app.
Mrs Briggs argued that the officer, who no longer serves with Leicestershire Police, had given “false and dishonest” accounts of events.
She went on to say: “It is the appropriate authority’s view that any engagement with sex workers is incompatible with being a police officer.
“It is a clear indication of someone who has tried to procure sexual services.”
The officer did not attend the hearing, nor mounted any defence against the allegations levelled at him.
Speaking on behalf of the officer, Leicestershire Police Federation’s Andy Spence acknowledged that despite “limited representation”, WhatsApp chats to sex workers were started but showed no activity when they were initially opened.
He further stated: “It is the officer’s case that those conversations were opened, but there were no messages exchanged.”
Regarding the calls placed in December 2024, Mr Spence confirmed the officer had no wish to comment on the matter.
The hearing chair and independent panel then adjourned proceedings to deliberate over whether gross or other misconduct had taken place.
The hearing continues.