Gross misconduct proven against a group of Dorset Police officers over offensive WhatsApp messages

Gross misconduct proven against a group of Dorset Police officers over offensive WhatsApp messages 

Gross misconduct has been found proven against one serving and three now former Dorset Police officers, following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into offensive messages shared in a WhatsApp group. 

Misconduct was proven for a further two serving Dorset Police officers. 

Our independent investigation looked at allegations that officers had shared or failed to challenge or report the messages to senior colleagues, including some that were racist and misogynistic.

The messages first came to light during a previous IOPC investigation. The group were members of the Dorset Police Climate Team, established to tackle drug supply and county lines operations in the area and safeguard victims of cuckooing.

IOPC Regional Director David Ford: “At the start of our investigation in mid-2022 we were faced with assessing several thousand pages of messages, and we focused on those officers serving at the time. Some of the messages shared within the group were wholly inappropriate, unprofessional and discriminatory, and we found there was an absence of proper challenge or reporting among officers involved. The sharing among the group of a photograph of one of the officers holding a sex toy at a member of the public’s home represented a clear violation of trust and lacked professionalism.

“The attitudes revealed in some of these messages are completely unacceptable and have no place in policing. Incidents such as these have the real potential to undo the great work undertaken by police officers on a daily basis, including those who seek to build trust and confidence with communities, especially communities who are harder to reach and those representing minority groups. Our investigation has led to those most involved receiving serious sanctions.

“The police disciplinary panel has decided that an officer should be dismissed and that three now former officers would have been dismissed, if still serving. Two other officers employed with the force have received final written warnings.”

We started an investigation in May 2022 and obtained accounts from police officers concerned, reviewed mobile phone downloads along with relevant legislation and force policies. Thousands of messages had been sent and shared among the group between March 2020 and January 2021. Examples of the messages we uncovered included referring to one member of the public as a ‘pikeys’ and someone else as looking like “he’d have yellow teeth, bad breath and some sort of skin condition”.

We finished our investigation in autumn 2023 and found six officers from Dorset Police had a case to answer for gross misconduct for alleged breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour in relation to: authority, respect and courtesy; equality and diversity; and discreditable conduct. 

Following a four-day hearing carried out at Dorset Police headquarters, the panel found the case proven at the level of gross misconduct for four of the officers. They decided former officers, PCs Matthew Williamson and Daniel Moore, and Special Sergeant Timothy Borrill, would have been dismissed if still serving. PC Mark Philpotts will now lose his job. Serving officers PC Kate Trent and Police Sergeant Kennie Wilson were given final written warnings. PS Wilson did not send any of the offensive messages but failed to challenge those who did or report his colleagues to his superiors.

The IOPC has previously raised concerns about the use of social media, particularly WhatsApp, within policing. In April 2021, we wrote to the National Police Chiefs’ Council about the issue. This followed a number of IOPC investigations that had identified officers were misusing social media.