'Predatory' police officer sent explicit photos to female cops for 12 years
A cop once nominated for officer of the year sent female colleagues explicit pictures and messages for 12 years, and would have been sacked if he had not already resigned, a misconduct hearing heard.
Thomas Harvey, a temporary detective sergeant for Norfolk Police, sent unsolicited sexual messages and images between 2011 and 2023. Harvey, who received his nomination in 2017, resigned from the force in April last year when an internal investigation into him was launched.
The hearing heard the married former officer sent obscene pictures to one woman on multiple occasions in 2011 and 2012. Images were also sent to a colleague in 2015 with a message asking: “What would you do with that?”
He also asked another officer whether or not she wore pyjamas in bed and messaged a colleague referring to the tightness of her uniform trousers.
His behaviour came to light in February 2023 when he sent a WhatsApp message to an officer stating “if you want to see what I’ve got…” followed by a picture of a penis. The woman told the disciplinary panel she had given him her mobile number hoping to get advice on how to progress her career in the police.
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Chairman Andrew Hearn said: “The panel considered this to be a very serious case of repeated misogyny and inappropriate behaviour towards females, including female officers, over an extended period where this issue has been highlighted as one of national concern for policing. Equally the failure on the part of an officer of rank to respect the confidentiality of sensitive data is a very serious matter.”
Harvey left the force last year (East Anglia News Service)The former officer, who worked in a role investigating serious sexual offences, also breached data rules by keeping personal details from rape cases. Harvey was found to have photographed and kept on his phone sensitive personal data.
This included the phone number, aliases, and photo of a witness in a rape investigation. He also kept a picture of part of a witness statement from a woman containing an explicit description of a rape.
Mr Hearn added: “That fact, coupled with the training which he will have received, should have made him acutely sensitive to the need to ensure that communications with colleagues were appropriate and treat sensitive information relating to the commission of alleged sexual offences. Yet his conduct revealed a complete failure on his part to do either of those things and all of this further aggravates his offending behaviour.”
The case is among an increasing number of Norfolk police officers facing misconduct investigations, which rose by almost 50 per cent last year. Chief constable Paul Sanford has said he expects more officers to face disciplinary action in the coming months amid greater scrutiny.
Harvey, previously a beat manager in Poringland, a village in Norfolk, did not attend the misconduct hearing and was not represented. When interviewed under caution in June 2023, he initially answered ‘no comment’ to all questions, but had later offered explanations for the data protection allegations.
He told investigators: “Everything is work-related in my time at work when I am dealing with a number of jobs and I have not done anything with any material or meeting anyone or anything like that.”
In written evidence, one of the female officers who received a penis picture from him said she had not reported it because she “just thought it was one of those things unfortunately females get”.
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