Wesley Bishop: former GMP officer banned from the police after messaging a sex worker while on duty

Greater Manchester Police said Wesley Bishop would have been sacked had he not already resigned from the force.
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A former police officer who messaged a sex worker while he was on duty has been banned from policing at a disciplinary hearing.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) decided that Wesley Bishop, who worked in Manchester, should be placed on the College of Policing Barred List. The force said that had he not already resigned he would have been sacked.

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Police said his actions were “brazen” and fell a long way short of the standards the public should expect from an officer.

What did Wesley Bishop do?

A misconduct hearing held on Thursday 2 March heard that Bishop, who worked in the city of Manchester division of GMP, messaged a female sex worker while he was on duty and asked her what services she offered as well as about prices.

The hearing, which was held at GMP’s headquarters, decided this amounted to gross misconduct. The panel also decided he should be barred from returning to policing in the future. Bishop was suspended from his role at GMP in June 2021. He then resigned from the force and did not attend the hearing.

Chief Constable Stephen Watson, who chaired the disciplinary proceedings, accepted that Bishop had no serious intention of pursuing a sexual relationship with the woman but carried out actions which were “brazen” and “reckless”.

What did GMP say about Wesley Bishop?

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The chief constable said Bishop’s behaviour had breached the standards of professional behaviour which should be expected of police officers.

Mr Watson said: “Had he not already resigned, Mr Bishop would have been dismissed without notice. The public has been poorly served; he should have spent his time carrying out the duties expected by the public.

“He should have known that sex workers are vulnerable and often exploited, and his actions were carried out in the full knowledge that they would carry consequences.

“It was a significant deviation from what would be expected from a decent officer.”