Police Constable Dismissed for Sharing “Inappropriate Material”

A police officer has been dismissed from service following the sharing of “inappropriate material with a member of the public for his own sexual gratification”. Former Police Constable Joshua Harper was determined to have violated policing standards of professional conduct, engaging in gross misconduct, during a hearing conducted at Wiltshire Police’s headquarters on Friday. The panel’s presiding officer reviewed four accusations against Harper, with two being substantiated, resulting in his immediate removal from duty. Furthermore, he has been added to the national barred list, which prevents him from future employment in policing. Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper stated that Harper’s conduct was “against everything we stand for in policing”. Cooper elaborated that Harper had “shared inappropriate material with a member of the public for his own sexual gratification and, in the process, undermined the trust that the public place in us to serve them according to the highest possible standards”. He added, “We continue to act robustly where behaviour is reported to us that falls short of what our communities expect and deserve. We will not stop until we root out behaviours such as those displayed by PC Harper from our organisation”. Harper is afforded a 10-day period to lodge an appeal against this decision. Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.