'He abused his power for his own gratification' - Police watchdog condemns PC jailed for inappropriate contact

Ex-constable Nick Peacock, 40, who was based in Market Drayton, was jailed for 18 months at Shrewsbury Crown Court today.

He had previously pleaded guilty to having inappropriate contact with a woman he met through the course of his duties, between February and April 2022.

A statement from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said: "We received a referral about PC Peacock’s conduct from West Mercia Police in April 2022 which led to our investigation. We 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.

"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 said: “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.”

PC Peacock resigned from West Mercia Police in March this year.