Former officer jailed for 18 months after admitting misconduct in public office

Ex-Police Constable Nick Peacock, 40, was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Tuesday (December 10). He had previously pleaded guilty to having inappropriate contact with a woman who was in a vulnerable position he had met through the course of his duties.

West Mercia Police said between February and April 2022, the former PC engaged in a “sexual relationship” with a suspect in an assault case he was investigating.

“He failed to investigate fully and closed the crime, saying that there were no witnesses, and that the victim didn’t support a prosecution. This was not true,” the force said.

“The allegations came to light on April 22, 2022, and Peacock was immediately suspended.”

The force referred the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which led the investigation and referred a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which then made the decision to bring criminal charges against Peacock.

The IOPC said it found evidence that showed the officer pursued an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman he had met after he responded to a reported assault, for which the woman was a suspect.

“We also found evidence that PC Peacock failed to progress the assault investigation, potentially due to his relationship with the woman,” the IOPC said.

“A review of the data from PC Peacock’s work mobile phone suggested that he had engaged in some form of sexual activity with the woman on March 4, 2022, at her home address, while he was on duty, with further meetings being planned in an exchange of text messages.”

IOPC regional director Derrick Campbell: “Police officers are expected to conduct themselves professionally at all times and are rightly held to certain standards when it comes to their interactions with members of the public.

“Part of an officer’s role is to protect members of the public who are in vulnerable situations. This was a clear case of abuse of power by PC Peacock for his own gratification.

“Such behaviour has the potential to seriously undermine public confidence in policing and the former officer has now, rightly, been held accountable for his actions.”

West Mercia Police said the case Peacock had failed to investigate was re-opened and a suspect was charged.

Peacock, who was a PC based in Market Drayton, resigned from the force in March 2024.

T/Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Jones, said: “The dishonesty and lack of integrity shown by Nicholas Peacock is deplorable. He abused his power as a police officer, and in the process totally undermined the trust which the victim had placed in him to investigate the case fairly and impartially.

“I’m pleased that his offences were identified so quickly and that he was immediately suspended.  His actions were totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated within our force.”

Despite having already resigned from the force, he will face misconduct proceedings now criminal proceedings have concluded.