A former Oldham detective has been dismissed from the police force due to an "improper relationship with a vulnerable woman".

Former Detective Constable Matthew Scarratt was found guilty of gross misconduct at an accelerated misconduct hearing on Friday (February 16).

DC Scarratt resigned from Greater Manchester Police last year and was not present at the hearing, where he was officially dismissed without notice.

He was accused of a series of incidents which began on October 31, 2021, which saw DC Scarratt keep in touch with a victim of crime who he had met whilst conducting his policing duties.

He continued to message the woman whilst he was off duty through social media, with his actions proving to have reached the level of gross misconduct.

DC Scarratt had faced allegations relating to Discreditable Conduct, Authority Respect & Courtesy, Duties & Responsibilities and Honesty & Integrity. 

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Detective Chief Inspector Dave Jones, of GMP's Professional Standards Directorate, said: "We continue to hold all of our police officers and staff to the highest standard, and former DC Scarratt fell well below what the public expect from our police officers.

“Former DC Scarratt knew his actions were entirely inappropriate but still continued to pursue an improper relationship with a vulnerable woman he met in the course of his policing duties.

“His actions were at entirely opposite end of the spectrum from how we expect our police officers to behave and the career ramification for his behaviour is that he has forfeited the privilege of being ever able to work in policing again.

“There is no place in GMP for those who behave like former DC Scarratt and the force remains committed to addressing misconduct of any kind, and at any rank, robustly investigating and taking action to ensure we maintain the confidence of the communities we serve."