A former West Mercia Police officer has pleaded guilty to a corruption offence, following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Content below from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC):
At a hearing today (Wednesday) at Worcester Crown Court, Oliver Dines, 33, was given a 15 month prison sentence.
We received a referral about the officer’s conduct from West Mercia Police in December 2020 and we started our investigation soon after. The offending, which involved the improper use of a police officer’s powers and privileges, was committed against two women on separate occasions, in Herefordshire, while Dines was on duty.
The evidence showed how he first met woman A, during the course of his duties when she was arrested for an alleged offence in October 2020. As she was waiting to be interviewed by him, he asked her if she was single.
After leaving custody, PC Dines took the woman home and before getting out of the police car, he commented on the clothing that she was wearing. When he was outside her property, he inappropriately touched her.
A short time later, woman A then received a Facebook friend request from PC Dines, which she said she felt obliged to accept, because he was a police officer. He then started messaging her, whilst he was still on duty. Over a period of approximately eight hours, PC Dines sent her more than 50 messages.
Woman B reported being assaulted in September 2020 and PC Dines dealt with the case. He continued contacting woman B from his work mobile phone and later, from his personal mobile. His messages quickly became sexualised and explicit and at one point, he asked her to send pictures of herself to him, which she refused to do. She asked PC Dines to stop messaging her, yet he continued to do so. PC Dines also made unnecessary visits to woman B at her home. On one occasion, he inappropriately touched her.
IOPC Director Derrick Campbell: “Part of a police officer’s role is to protect members of the public who are in vulnerable situations, not to make them feel uncomfortable and unsafe. This was a clear case of abuse of power by the officer, for his own gratification.
“PC Dines’ behaviour has the potential to seriously undermine public confidence in policing and he has now, rightly, been held accountable for his actions.”
During our enquiries, investigators interviewed the police officer, examined his mobile phone and obtained statements from several witnesses, including the two women he targeted. He admitted during interview that he failed to act with integrity and that he had pursued an improper emotional relationship with both women.
We completed our investigation in December 2021. We then submitted our evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, who authorised the charges. We also sent our investigation report to West Mercia Police along with the recommendation that PC Dines should face gross misconduct proceedings.
Mr Dines was dismissed from the force in March 2022 on an unrelated matter.
