Former Wiltshire police officer has gross misconduct allegation upheld at hearing

A former police officer, who was convicted of a child sex offence in June, has had an allegation of Gross Misconduct upheld at an accelerated misconduct hearing conducted by Wiltshire Police yesterday.

At the hearing chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Deb Smith, 44 year-old Barry Geering, from London, was found to have breached standards of professional behaviour.

Wiltshire Police say that had Geering not previously resigned from the Force, he would have been dismissed without notice. He will also be placed on the national barred list, stopping him from working in policing in the future.

Geering was arrested in April last year as part of an operation by a team at the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit. He was immediately suspended from duty. Two months later, he resigned from the force.

At Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 23rd June, Geering pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child under 16 and was sentenced to 28 weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months, 30 days rehabilitation and 80 hours of unpaid work.

He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for seven years.

Wiltshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper said: “Our communities rightly expect the highest standards of professional behaviour from all our officers and staff."

“Geering’s conduct is simply incompatible with that expected of Wiltshire Police. As soon as we were made aware of this matter, he was immediately suspended."

“We continue to encourage and enable all members of our organisation to report concerns they have regarding a colleague’s behaviour and we won’t hesitate to investigate without fear or favour.”