Pervert cop rang own force to see if he'd been reported and still wasn't caught
A perverted cop was said to have rang up his own force to see if he’d been reported for his crimes - but they still failed to catch him.
Luke Horner, then a serving police officer with Thames Valley police, filmed himself sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl on her phone. The force had missed at least five opportunities to confront Horner over his behaviour as an officer before he abused his victim in June this year, an inspection uncovered.
The 24-year-old joined the force in October 2020, and was based at Amersham police station. Earlier this month, he was jailed for six years and four months for sexually abusing a child aged 13-15. Following the opening of the criminal investigation into Horner, the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner requested a targeted review into how the sick copper was able to get away with his abuse.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that Thames Valley Police could not have reasonably anticipated Horner’s horrific crimes. But also found that the force missed at least five chances to take action against him. This was both in the initial vetting stage and during his time serving as a police officer.
The very first failure was back during the vetting process, when the force failed to make further inquiries into an alleged assault that had taken place in 2016. Alongside this, they missed another opportunity to properly look into why Horner left the army early. The HMICFRS’ report said: “It is unusual for a soldier to leave the army purely because of a lack of job satisfaction. These enquiries may have revealed other reasons for him leaving the army early that, again, would have been relevant to the vetting decision.”
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Then, during Horner’s time as an officer, there were questions raised about his honesty and integrity which the force failed to identify despite arising from several incidents. One such incident was him taking various items of evidence home in his bag. He later reported it had been stolen from his car but a member of the public had already reported finding the bag in a river. Horner also failed to explain the contents of the bag he took.
Then, after Thames Valley police’s counter-corruption unit received an anonymous tip-off from Crimestoppers, they only made one single attempt to contact the person who reported it. Crimestoppers let someone anonymously pass information on whilst keeping the channel open for further communication. The inspection said the counter-corruption should have made “repeated and exhaustive” attempts to contact the person. Instead, they made one single effort.
Horner was also being investigated for the misuse of his taser - whilst he was subject to a live written warning for the previous mishandling of evidence. During this, he pointed it at a colleague and activated the red dot laser. The inspection said that taken with previous behaviour, the professional standards department should have “without hesitation” assessed the behaviour as gross misconduct.
HMICFRS said that there were “other incidents” that showed Horner never should have been an officer. He was on a development plan for his poor performance as well. His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said: “Having robust vetting processes is vital for forces in being able to identify any misconduct, dismiss officers and staff if they are not fit for the job and prevent unsuitable officers from joining in the first place.
“While we found that Thames Valley Police could not have reasonably anticipated PC Horner would commit such an abhorrent crime, we found at least five lost opportunities where the force could have taken stricter action against him. It is very clear, particularly when considered alongside other incidents which took place during his police service, PC Horner was not suited to being a police officer.
“We have identified several areas of learning which we encourage the force to address. We will revisit the force as part of our rolling programme of inspections in 2024 and will look at their vetting, professional standards and counter-corruption arrangements in more detail.”
Thames Valley Police Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs said: “Our thoughts remain with the young girl and her family who have been affected by Horner's criminal behaviour. Such behaviour has no place in policing or in society.
"We are grateful for HMICFRS’ insight. In its report, HMICFRS highlights we could not have anticipated that Horner would end up committing such abhorrent sexual offences against a child. It also agreed with our decision to grant vetting clearance, and that our processes were consistent with national practice at the time.
“We will review each of the HMICFRS recommendations carefully to ensure that any further changes to our processes are made. We want to help build a police service the public trusts in and will continue to remove those who have no place in policing.”
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