West Mercia Police officer barred from serving following sex assault conviction
A former police officer who sexually assaulted a woman has been barred from ever serving a force in the future.
Liam Smith, from Lancer Road, Shrewsbury, sexually touched a woman over her clothing while off-duty and on a night out in the town on September 10, 2022. Last year, the 31-year-old was sentenced to a nine-month community order after being found guilty of one count of sexual assault.
He was ordered to carry out 20 days of rehabilitation activities and 140 hours of unpaid work. Smith also had to pay £2,000 in prosecution costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
He was suspended from the force when the allegations came to light and resigned on December 3, 2023.
An accelerated misconduct hearing held at West Mercia Police’s headquarters in Hindlip today (Thursday) found that his crimes amounted to gross misconduct and seriously breached standards of professional behaviour of discreditable conduct, as set out in the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020.
It was therefore concluded that Smith would have been sacked had he not resigned.
“This is another case which demonstrates that we won’t hesitate to take action against officers who break the law, or breach the high standards expected of them as part of their role,” said Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Jones.
“Sexual assault is abhorrent and the fact that Smith was a serving officer when this assault took place makes his crime all the more reprehensible.
“Quite simply, officers like Liam Smith have no place in policing.
“I’d like to thank the victim for bravely coming forward to report him, which I know can be incredibly difficult. Without them we would not have been able to take action and secure the conviction against Smith.”
Smith will now be added to the College of Policing Barring List, preventing him from working for a UK police force in the future. The outcome of the hearing is subject to the normal appeals process.
