Officer who sought to conceal wrongdoing would have been dismissed

Following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), a misconduct panel found gross misconduct proven against former Police Constable Christopher Bolton, who was based in York.

PC Bolton was found to have abused his position for a sexual purpose gain and submitted a falsely inflated risk assessment document with the intention of benefitting the member of the public.

After attending a report of a civil dispute, PC Bolton attended the individual’s address on two occasions on the same day. It was found proven that on the second occasion he had some sexual contact with them. He then went onto exchange messages via WhatsApp, in which he sent an image of a sexual nature.

During the first encounter at the house, the former officer had a conversation with the member of the public in which he offered to liaise with a council department on their behalf. It was found that he had then submitted a document to that department, containing a falsely inflated risk assessment.

Although PC Bolton voluntarily offered details of his contact with the member of the public, the IOPC found evidence that he sought to conceal his wrongdoing by deleting correspondence on his mobile and requesting that they did the same.

Miranda Biddle, Regional Director for the IOPC, said: “Police officers are held to high standards when it comes to their interactions with members of the public and they are expected to conduct themselves professionally.

“PC Bolton abused his position and took advantage of a member of the public he knew was in a vulnerable position. In doing so, he breached the police standards of professional behaviour, betrayed their trust and risked seriously undermining public confidence.

“The verdict sends a clear message that this behaviour has no part in policing and he will now be barred from working for the police in future.”