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Former Manchester police officer who pursued relationship with ‘vulnerable’ woman jailed

GMP says he "abused his position as a police officer" and is a "disgrace" to the police service.

Emily Sergeant - 17th June 2024

A former Manchester police officer has been sentenced to jail time after pursing a relationship with a “vulnerable” woman.

Shamraze Arshad, from Bolton, was sacked from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) back in January of this year, following a trial in July 2023 – where he was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and data misuse as part of the same case.

Police investigations into Arshad’s conduct first began in July 2021, and his sacking from the police service came after a routine audit check by GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate (PSD) found that the 38-year-old – who was a PC based at Longsight, at the time – had been using police systems while off-duty and without a policing purpose.

Subsequent enquiries found he had been making a large volume of contact with a particular number from his work phone, and GMP was able to establish that this number was connected to a woman who Arshad had previously responded to after a 999 call about concern for her welfare in October 2020.

Following this, Arshad was arrested and suspended in July 2021.

We’ve praised the ‘courageous’ woman in this case for providing vital evidence over two trials.

DCI Jones: “This is an unforgivable breach of policing standards and it’s right he will never be trusted to wear a police uniform again.”

Full story here: https://t.co/x5FPWxmeRH
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) June 14, 2024

Despite being released on bail with conditions not to contact the woman, Arshad went to her address and told her housemates to pass on a message that she shouldn’t tell the police anything about their relationship, before he was arrested the following day for attempting to pervert the course of justice, and then subsequently later charged.

GMP officers spoke to the woman, who bravely gave an account of the sexual relationship that Arshad pursued with her.

Following a retrial at Liverpool Crown Court last Thursday (13 June 2024), Arshad was convicted by a jury of attempting to pervert the course of justice, data misuse, and misconduct in a public office, and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Jones, of GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate, said Arshad “abused his position as a police officer” and is a “disgrace” to the police service.

A former Manchester police officer who pursued a relationship with a ‘vulnerable’ woman has been jailed / Credit: GMP

“I want to thank the courageous woman in this case for providing us with the evidence that was so important in ensuring that Arshad is rightly held accountable for the full extent of his crimes,” DC Jones commented following the trial and sentencing last week.

“He abused his position as a police officer to pursue a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman who he was supposed to protect in her time of need. This is an unforgivable breach of policing standards and it’s right he will never be trusted to wear a police uniform again.”

DC Jones said Arshad’s jail term is “fully deserved”.

“He is a disgrace to the police service and does not represent the thousands of professional, honest, hard-working police officers across Greater Manchester who continue to protect the public each and every day,” DC Jones continued.

“As soon as we were legally able to, we sacked Arshad and, now that criminal proceedings have been concluded, we will invite the Deputy Mayor to strip him of his police pension.”

Featured Image – GMP