by Thames Valley Police was told an officer “repeatedly asked a 15-year-old girl to send nude pictures of him” before going on to sexually offend children, a new review has found.
The incident was highlighted as one of at least five missed opportunities by the force to take tougher action against former Pc Luke Horner before he engaged in penetrative sexual activity with a 13-year-old child on June 11 this year.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) was commissioned by the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley to examine whether opportunities were missed in the way the force dealt with information and intelligence about Horner during of his service.
The HMICFRS concluded that Thames Valley Police could not reasonably have foreseen that Horner would commit sexual offenses against a child.
It is very clear, particularly when considered alongside other incidents which took place during his police service, that Pc Horner was not fit to be a police officer
HM Inspector of Police Roy Wilsher
But the review found the force missed at least five opportunities to take tougher action against him both at the initial vetting stage and during his police service, which could have led to him being refused the initial vetting license or sacked .
Horner, who resigned as an officer on July 26, traveled to Rushden, Northamptonshire, while off duty to commit the offence.
The court heard Horner also recorded the act on his victim's phone.
He was sentenced earlier this month to six years and four months.
At the initial stage of the review, the force should have made further inquiries into two separate issues – a possible allegation of sexual assault in 2016 and his early departure from the British Army, the HMICFRS found.
And during his policing, the force failed to identify that there were questions about his honesty and integrity following a number of incidents – and when considered together, these incidents “clearly demonstrated that Horner was unfit to he's a policeman.”
During Horner's policing, the force's anti-corruption unit received anonymous information from Crimestoppers suggesting Horner had been chatting online with a 15-year-old girl and had “repeatedly” asked her to send him nude photos.
The anti-corruption unit made one attempt to contact the person who gave the information to Crimestoppers, but the inspectorate said the unit should have made “repeated and exhaustive attempts” to contact the person within the 14-day period that the communication channel remained open.
Supervisors found that Horner “did not always handle evidence properly” – an example of this was officers sniffing cannabis in the office and finding some on Horner's work tray, which had been there for three or four weeks.
Another incident involved him carrying items home in his bag. Horner reported that the bag had been stolen from his car, but a member of the public had already reported finding the bag in a river.
Horner failed to disclose all the items in his bag when he reported it stolen, and when the bag was found and the contents examined, the sergeant asked him to explain the full contents.
The incident was assessed as misconduct but “would more properly have been assessed as gross misconduct”, which if the subsequent investigation had concluded there was a case for serious misconduct to be answered, dismissal would have been a likely outcome, the inspectorate said.
At the time of an incident involving Horner pointing his taser at a colleague and activating the red dot laser, he was still subject to a live written warning for mishandling evidence, so the inspectorate believes the professional standards department should “without hesitation” assessed the conduct as gross misconduct, which could lead to a serious misconduct hearing, with possible dismissal as a result.
HM Inspector of Police Roy Wilsher said: “Strong control processes are vital for forces to be able to spot any inappropriate behaviour, dismiss officers and staff if they are not fit for the job and prevent inclusion of unsuitable officers.
“While we found that Thames Valley Police could not reasonably have foreseen that Pc Horner would commit such a heinous crime, we found at least five missed 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, that Pc Horner was not fit to be a police officer.
“We have identified several areas of learning that we are encouraging the force to address.
“We will review the force as part of the rolling inspection program in 2024 and look at their audit, professional standards and anti-corruption arrangements in more detail.”
