"He is a disgrace to the police service"
A former Greater Manchester Police constable who had sex sessions with a vulnerable woman while on duty has been jailed for four years.
Shamraze Arshad, who was previously based at Longsight station police, met the woman after he and a colleague were called out to her student accommodation in south Manchester when she was suicidal in the autumn of 2020.
Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, said he submitted a care plan for her after she was taken to hospital and after finishing his shift, “that should have been the end of the matter”.
But later that morning, Arshad used his police mobile to find her personal details and began calling her.
The investigation began in July 2021 following a routine audit check by GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate (PSD).
The check found Arshad had been using police systems while off-duty and without a policing purpose.
It was revealed he had been making “making a large volume of contact” with a particular number from his work phone.
The number was linked back to the vulnerable woman.
It was then uncovered that Arshad had been having sex with the victim while on duty.
Mr Baxter said: “Far detached from the knight in shining armour she initially thought he was, we suggest that she was selected by him because of those very vulnerabilities which caused him to first meet her and that he abused his position as a serving police officer, gaining her trust, in order to sleep with her.
“His concern was not her wellbeing, but rather his own sexual desires.”
The woman said their relationship involved “friends with benefits” and that Arshad would visit her for 15-20 minutes “for a fun time in bed”.
Approximately seven months after the relationship ended, Arshad was arrested and suspended on July 19, 2021, and released on bail on the condition that he would not contact the woman in any way.
But the constable immediately went to her home.
As she was out, he returned the next morning and banged on her window.
The terrified woman hid in the bathroom and called the police.
Arshad was arrested again the following day for attempting to pervert the course of justice and later charged. During the trial, Arshad denied ever having sex with the woman.
Arshad, of Bolton, was convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice and unauthorised access to the police computer in July 2023.
He was sacked from the force in January 2024.
That jury could not reach a verdict on the misconduct offence leading to the 2024 retrial at Liverpool Crown Court.
In a statement to the court, the victim said:
“This man took advantage of me and his position in his job.
“As a police officer that is not professional, it is also inhumane, taking advantage of a young girl.”
“He has ruined the image of the great British police. This is not just about him but the whole police system in the UK.”
Defending, Peter Wright said: “He is disgraced, dismissed from the force and faces a perilous and uncertain future as a serving prisoner.
“He has squandered a promising career by his own acts and he has squandered the support of a loyal family by virtue of his conduct bringing shame upon them as indeed upon himself.”
The constable was jailed for four years.
Detective Chief Inspector Dave Jones, of GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate, said:
“I want to thank the courageous woman in this case for providing us with the evidence that was so important in ensuring that Arshad is rightly held accountable for the full extent of his crimes.
“He abused his position as a police officer to pursue a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman who he was supposed to protect in her time of need.
“This is an unforgivable breach of policing standards and it’s right he will never be trusted to wear a police uniform again. Arshad’s jail term is fully deserved.
“He is a disgrace to the police service and does not represent the thousands of professional, honest, hard-working police officers across Greater Manchester who continue to protect the public each and every day.
“As soon as we were legally able to, we sacked Arshad and, now that criminal proceedings have been concluded, we will invite the Deputy Mayor to strip him of his police pension.”
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