PC resigns after ‘talking about sex every day’ to young women
A police constable in his fifties resigned in disgrace before he could be sacked for a litany of creepy comments and sexual discussions with young trainees.
Former Merseyside Police[1] officer Philip Jameson was accused of 16 different incidents of disrespectful or inappropriate behaviour involving fellow officers, including on one occasion grabbing a female colleague by the hips and pulling her towards his groin on a night out.
Jameson resigned, but a misconduct panel concluded he was guilty of gross misconduct and would have been sacked in any event.
The hearing, which Jameson did not attend, heard from 10 witnesses who described disgraceful incidents involving the officer, who was himself a trainee, between September 2021 and January 2022. He was described as "constantly" making remarks about women he wanted to have sex with.
An independent panel, chaired by Legally Qualified Chairman Oliver Thorne, concluded in a written judgment: "This is troubling case and the panel note that two of the witnesses in particular appear to have either borne the brunt of this gross misconduct behaviour or indeed been subject to harassment by the former Constable Jameson.
"The Panel recommends that these officers not only be thanked for coming forward but also offered specialist support as it is clear from their statements that they were deeply affected.
"This case demonstrates severity of sexually inappropriate behaviour and the impact it can have, not only on those subject to it but also for the perpetrator of such actions. The panel recommends that the details of this case be redacted and used as a case study in conjunction with other training materials on standards and values in the Academy for the benefit of future students."
According to the charges, Jameson appeared to be obsessed with sex and "on multiple occasions spoke to other student officers, including Constable B, about how you were cheating on your wife, by being on dating apps and going to watch other couples having sex."
The panel noted that "unprompted" the officer would show Constable B messages from women and talked about his sexual habits "including going swinging".
Constable B, who gave evidence, described how an "innocuous" conversation with a colleague, Constable E, about travelling got highjacked by Jameson talking about a hotel he had visited where "everyone had to be naked" and have sex with each other.
Constable B told the panel: "Phil then went on to explain how before entering the building everyone's appearance had to meet a certain standard and Phil proceeded to state how Officer E and myself would have no trouble meeting those expectations.
"This made me feel weird due to his body language, as he suggestively looked Officer E and myself up and down. I felt really uncomfortable and did not know how to reply to this."
The panel said: "This was a conversation between a man in his fifties, who had established an informal leadership position in his cohort of trainees and a much younger woman. It is a further example of the Officer turning innocuous conversations around to talk about sex and to sexually objectify female colleagues."
The most serious incidents involved Jameson "smacking Officer E on the bottom" and grabbing another officer, Officer K, by the hips and pulling her towards his groin.
Jameson has been added to the College of Policing Barred List, prohibiting him from holding any role in policing in the UK.
Chief Superintendent Jennifer Wilson, Head of the force’s Professional Standards Department, said: “The actions of this police officer were completely unacceptable and it was right that he was made to answer for his behaviour in front of an independent chair.
“We demand the highest possible standards from all of our officers and staff, and I commend his colleagues who came forward to report his actions.
“Our communities expect and deserve anyone employed by this force to behave in a professional, lawful and respectful manner and when that is not the case our dedicated professional standards department will always carry out a thorough investigation to ensure the public across Merseyside can continue to have confidence in the police service.
“The overwhelming majority of our police officers and staff act with respect, professionalism, and integrity. We want to keep it that way, and will continue to take swift, robust action to investigation anyone whose behaviour falls short of those high standards."
References
- ^ Merseyside Police (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
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