A WILTSHIRE Police officer has been sacked for gross misconduct after sending “highly inappropriate” images to a colleague.

A hearing found that PC Stephen Proctor used his personal mobile phone to send images via WhatsApp that have been described as misogynistic, sexualised and offensive.

The panel, chaired by assistant chief constable Ian Saunders at Wiltshire Police Headquarters last Thursday (June 26), found Proctor’s actions breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour for police officers in respect of Authority, Respect and Courtesy, Equality and Diversity and Discreditable Conduct.

Ian Saunders said: “The actions of former PC Stephen Proctor were completely unacceptable and fall well below the high standards of professionalism that we expect of all our police officers, staff and volunteers.

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“There is no place within our organisation for anyone who conducts themselves in this inappropriate manner, including on personal devices.”

Proctor resigned from the force once the hearing commenced, and he was told he would have been dismissed without notice if he had remained in service.

Proctor will now be placed on the national barred list, which means he will not be able to work in policing in the future.

He has 10 working days to appeal the outcome.

Wiltshire Police launched a Safe2Say anonymous reporting system in December 2023, which is a bespoke internal reporting system which is geared to giving officers, staff and volunteers the confidence to report any wrongdoing, concerns they have or intelligence surrounding our workforce.