Olivia Wilkinson was described as a “role model” but her actions amounted to assault and gross misconduct
Olivia Wilkinson was on a night out with her student colleagues when her behaviour got her sacked(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
A student Merseyside Police officer has been sacked for what she did on a night out despite being described as a role model and an “exemplary” student. Olivia Wilkinson was on a night out with her student colleagues in Liverpool city centre on April 13 last year when she hit a colleague in the face and grabbed another by his genitals.
During an investigation into the incident, Wilkinson told how she joined the force when she was 19. She accepted she had acted inappropriately on the night in question as well as accepting she had breached the regulations relating to the Standards of Professional Behaviour.
A report into the misconduct said the student police constable felt “disappointment, shame and embarrassment” about how she behaved. The report was published following a two-day hearing on Thursday, July 10, at Merseyside Police headquarters.
The former officer told how she was anxious about the night out and had not eaten anything before she went on to drink “quite a lot of strong alcoholic drinks”. This meant her memory was “patchy or vague”.
Wilkinson accepted the first allegation that she had hit a colleague but denied the second allegation claiming she had grabbed another colleague’s genitals. Despite accepting it, she claims she did not recall hitting him.
She carried on to claim she had “no recollection of touching or grabbing [redacted] around his genitals or reaching out towards him in that area”.
The findings of the report said how Wilkinson hitting her colleague amounted to assault and gross misconduct, with the reason for her hitting him remaining a mystery. Her colleague was unable to remember which hand she used, the force of the strike or the reason behind it.
During the night out the group went to Wall of Fame bar in the city centre and this is where Wilkinson became upset. She appeared to believe there may have been flirting between two of her colleagues which irritated her. A colleague said: “This appeared to annoy her and she had been annoyed by this before in class and it came up in conversation.
“She suddenly grabbed [redacted] by his crotch area, she fully had grip of [redacted] and appeared to squeeze. He swatted her hand off and then pushed her back.”
It goes on to say how he was visibly upset. On the balance of probabilities, investigators came to the conclusion Wilkinson had grabbed her colleague by his genitals in the manner previously described.
The panel, chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Jennifer Wilson, found that in doing so, Wilkinson had assaulted her colleague. There was no evidence found of any sexual motive behind the assault.
The two-day hearing found Wilkinson’s behaviour amounted to gross misconduct, with the panel hearing evidence from officers regarding the assault and how one witness said they had never seen one of the victims so upset.
In mitigation, the panel considered her age, remorse and how the misconduct was brief in nature. They also took account of her good character, how she was an “exemplary student officer and a role model”.
The report said: “The panel were impressed by the character evidence which showed the officer as an impressive individual from an early age. The panel were in no doubt that PC Wilkinson was well regarded by her peers.”
Wilkinson was dismissed without notice following the hearing and has been added to the College of Policing barred list.
Detective Chief Superintendent Sabi Kaur, Head of the force’s Professional Standards Department, said: “The actions of this officer were completely unacceptable and risked seriously undermining public confidence in policing.
“I hope that the seriousness with which the Force has handled the investigation into this behaviour demonstrates very clearly the standards we uphold at Merseyside Police.
“The public quite rightly expect that officers, even when off duty, should adhere to professional behaviour. Fellow officers too should be treated with respect and Constable Wilkinson’s actions showed a complete disregard for her colleagues.
“I am pleased to say the overwhelming majority of our officers, whether on or off duty, hold themselves to the highest standards of behaviour and are fully committed to keeping our communities safe.
“Where officers and staff don’t, we are committed to finding them and removing them from the force.
“The actions of Constable Wilkinson clearly fell far below the standards expected and it is right that she no longer works for Merseyside Police.
“Our officers and staff who do an exemplary job day in, day out and we will not allow the actions of people like former Constable Wilkinson to damage the good name they have built up.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Kaur added: “We want to hear about officers and staff who do not uphold the values we demand and introduced Call It Out to run alongside the Crimestoppers Internal Integrity Line, an internal campaign to encourage colleagues to call out behaviour that does not align with our principles.
“It empowers officers and staff to challenge behaviour in the workplace, as well as providing an avenue to confidentially report behaviour into our Professional Standards Department.”
Members of the community are also encouraged to use the Crimestoppers Police Anti-Corruption and Abuse Reporting Service on 0800 085 0000. This is a national service to support the public to speak up about corruption and abuse by police officers, staff and volunteers. People can report anonymously or confidentially if they are willing to leave their details for the Merseyside Police Anti-Corruption investigation team to ask additional questions.