Former TVP officer pleads guilty to criminal charges
A former Thames Valley Police officer has pleaded guilty to three counts of misconduct in public office and two counts of computer misuse at a hearing at Reading Crown Court.
Former Police Constable Oliver Perry-Smith, aged 38, who had been based at Newbury police station, engaged or attempted to engage in sexual relationships with female members of the public while on duty over more than five years from September 2014.
He also used the police national computer system to find personal information about a woman, as well as data about another person, in 2019.
The force made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in 2019 after being made aware of PC Perry-Smith’s offences. He resigned from Thames Valley Police on Tuesday February 8, this year.
A special case misconduct hearing was chaired by Chief Constable John Campbell via video link on Wednesday February 9. The chief constable determined that former PC Perry-Smith’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and that he would have been dismissed from the force had he not already resigned.
He has also been placed on the College of Policing’s barred list. The hearing was held in private in order that the legal proceedings were not prejudiced.
Deputy Chief Constable Jason Hogg said: “Former PC Perry-Smith’s actions were not only disgraceful, but were also criminal. We took robust action by referring his case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as well as carrying out our own misconduct procedures. In these misconduct procedures, Chief Constable John Campbell determined that if PC Perry-Smith had not resigned, he would have been dismissed from our force.
“The public has a right to expect that police officers are always acting with the utmost integrity and professionalism, and that they can be trusted to use personal information on police systems appropriately and respectfully.
“Officers who fail to do this are committing a criminal offence, not to mention falling far below the standards their colleagues and the public expect of them. I am pleased that Oliver Perry-Smith is facing justice for his actions and is no longer part of Thames Valley Police.”
Mr Perry-Smith will be sentenced on April 29.
