Police officer dismissed and barred for ‘improper relationship' with crime victim

A police officer has been dismissed and placed on the College of Policing Barred List for carrying out an ‘improper relationship’ with a vulnerable woman.

Paul Banks, who worked as a PC in Salford, appeared before a Gross Misconduct Hearing on 24 and 25 January 2023.

The panel was told Banks accessed a vulnerable woman’s email account that he had advised her to create, and then accessed images that she had uploaded.

Banks clicked on images and videos, most of which were of an explicit nature, more than 200 times and failed to report them to his manager or PSB.

His actions were uncovered by fellow officers, who reported him the force’s Professional Standards Branch.

Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Allen, head of GMP’s Professional Standards Branch, said: “Banks knew full well that his conduct was egregiously wrong. 

“By cultivating an improper relationship with a vulnerable member of the public who he met in the course of his policing duties, the officer has been deservedly sacked from GMP. 

“Not only has he disgraced himself, but his depraved behaviour dishonours policing and undermines the principled endeavours of his colleagues, who everyday do a valiant job catching criminals and protecting our communities. 

“Indeed, it was Banks’ own colleagues who sensed something was amiss and triggered the first step in a process that rooted him out. 

“The prudence of his colleagues is to be commended and I am grateful to the IOPC for conducting an investigation that left no stone unturned.    

“No decent member of the police service wants to work with the likes of Banks and there will never be a place in GMP for anybody who behaves like him. 

“He abused his position of trust and for that the Office of Constable has been rightly stripped from him. 

“GMP is a better force without Banks and we will recruit a new officer into his post who will discharge their duties with honour and espouse the professional and compassionate values of the GMP workforce.”

Banks, who had been on restricted since the investigation began in December 2020, was dismissed without notice.