Latest news with #TobyKnight
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Inspector who phoned sex workers on duty banned
A police inspector who made hundreds of calls on a force mobile phone to sex workers over six years, many while he was working, has been banned from policing. Greater Manchester Police said Toby Knight had resigned from the force on Wednesday, the day before he was due to appear before a disciplinary panel. The panel ruled that Insp Knight would have been sacked if he had not resigned. Amanda Rowe, director of the police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said: "Insp Knight's actions are compounded by the fact the communication was so extensive and over a very long period of time." The IOPC, whose anti-corruption unit investigated Knight, said the officer, who had served for 17 years, was found to have "breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour for authority, respect and courtesy, discreditable conduct, honesty and integrity and orders and instructions". He was arrested on 2 April 2024 and accepted during questioning he had contacted sex workers while on duty. A review of his work mobile phone calls identified adult sex workers were contacted 245 times between September 2018 and March 2024, with 176 calls taking place while he was working. In addition, a study of his personal mobile phone showed 357 communications with sex workers between May 2023 and April 2024 - 259 outgoing and 98 incoming. Investigators matched numbers on adverts for sex workers to those Knight had called. They also spoke with sex workers contacted by Knight who confirmed text exchanges with him. Ms Rowe also said: "Cases such as these have the real potential to impact on public confidence in the police." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Independent Office for Police Conduct
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Inspector who phoned sex workers on duty banned
A police inspector who made hundreds of calls on a force mobile phone to sex workers over six years, many while he was working, has been banned from policing. Greater Manchester Police said Toby Knight had resigned from the force on Wednesday, the day before he was due to appear before a disciplinary panel. The panel ruled that Insp Knight would have been sacked if he had not resigned. Amanda Rowe, director of the police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said: "Insp Knight's actions are compounded by the fact the communication was so extensive and over a very long period of time." The IOPC, whose anti-corruption unit investigated Knight, said the officer, who had served for 17 years, was found to have "breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour for authority, respect and courtesy, discreditable conduct, honesty and integrity and orders and instructions". He was arrested on 2 April 2024 and accepted during questioning he had contacted sex workers while on duty. A review of his work mobile phone calls identified adult sex workers were contacted 245 times between September 2018 and March 2024, with 176 calls taking place while he was working. In addition, a study of his personal mobile phone showed 357 communications with sex workers between May 2023 and April 2024 - 259 outgoing and 98 incoming. Investigators matched numbers on adverts for sex workers to those Knight had called. They also spoke with sex workers contacted by Knight who confirmed text exchanges with him. Ms Rowe also said: "Cases such as these have the real potential to impact on public confidence in the police." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Independent Office for Police Conduct
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
GMP inspector who phoned sex workers while on duty banned
A police inspector who made hundreds of calls on a force mobile phone to sex workers over six years, many while he was working, has been banned from Manchester Police said Toby Knight had resigned from the force on Wednesday, the day before he was due to appear before a disciplinary panel ruled that Insp Knight would have been sacked if he had not Rowe, director of the police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said: "Insp Knight's actions are compounded by the fact the communication was so extensive and over a very long period of time." The IOPC, whose anti-corruption unit investigated Knight, said the officer, who had served for 17 years, was found to have "breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour for authority, respect and courtesy, discreditable conduct, honesty and integrity and orders and instructions". 'Calls while working' He was arrested on 2 April 2024 and accepted during questioning he had contacted sex workers while on duty.A review of his work mobile phone calls identified adult sex workers were contacted 245 times between September 2018 and March 2024, with 176 calls taking place while he was addition, a study of his personal mobile phone showed 357 communications with sex workers between May 2023 and April 2024 - 259 outgoing and 98 matched numbers on adverts for sex workers to those Knight had also spoke with sex workers contacted by Knight who confirmed text exchanges with Rowe also said: "Cases such as these have the real potential to impact on public confidence in the police." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Inspector used his police-issued phone to line up 100s of meetings with sex workers - with dozens of 'events' planned when he was on duty
An inspector used his police-issued phone to arrange hundreds of meetings with sex workers, including dozens while he was on duty. Former Greater Manchester Police officer Toby Knight scheduled 245 of these 'events' from September 2018 and February 2024, with 165 of them taking place while he was supposed to be on shift. A further 357 meet-ups were organised on his personal phone between May 25, 2023 and April 2, 2024 - a rate of more than one a day, the Manchester Evening News reports. He conducted 56 of these further appointments on days he was due to be working - with 29 taking place while he was on duty and another 27 when the officer had called in sick. A gross misconduct hearing at Greater Manchester Police HQ on Thursday concluded he would have been dismissed without notice - had he not retired from the force the day before. During the proceedings, a personal statement penned by the absent Knight, who had worked for Greater Manchester Police for 28 years, said: 'My career is not defined by this allegation because I am more than that.' The disgraced officer also bemoaned that the allegations meant his 'career in the police would end in ignominy'. Knight added that the world in 1997, when he joined the force, was a 'very different place'. Chief Resource Officer Lee Rawlinson, who chaired the hearing, said that the former policeman 'has chosen not to engage with this process'. The inspector was arrested in 2024 and told a police interview that he was a 'regular user' of sex workers, including some that were known to his force, and used his police-issued mobile to organise such meetings. The hearing concluded that Knight had deliberately flouted regulations forbidding officers from seeing sex workers, given the harm it could cause the police's reputation and the potential for its staff to become compromised. He was also placed on the College of Policing's list of people banned from policing. Mr Rawlinson said: 'His actions were patently not appropriate and not of the standard expected of a police officer. 'The level of seriousness in this case is very high. The behaviour of Mr Knight was totally unacceptable. 'Had Mr Knight not retired I would have dismissed him from the service with immediate effect. I would also like to add him to the College of Policing barred list.' Detective Superintendent Simon Hurst, of GMP's Professional Standards Directorate, meanwhile, said in a statement: 'Greater Manchester Police are committed to identifying and investigating the actions and behaviours of officers and staff, such as that from former Inspector Toby Knight who fall below the high standards and expectations we expect from them. 'The detailed investigation into the behaviour and actions of Knight, resulting in today's proceedings, has led to him being found guilty of gross misconduct and, and had he not retired and still been serving, he would have been sacked. 'Knight will also be placed on the Policing Barred List to ensure he doesn't work in law enforcement again. 'I hope that today's finding demonstrates GMP's ongoing assurance to the public that officers and police staff who conduct themselves in such a manner have no place within Policing will be held to account for their actions.'
