Sgt Liam Smith Used Force Phone To Contact Sex Workers And Search Their Numbers On Police Systems

A Greater Manchester Police sergeant who used his force-issued phone to contact adult sex workers and search their telephone numbers on police systems would have been dismissed had he not resigned, a misconduct hearing found.

Former Sergeant Liam Smith made calls and sent a text message to numbers attributed to adult sex workers. He also searched six numbers on PoliceWorks while on duty, without a policing purpose.

All three allegations against him were proven at an accelerated misconduct hearing held online on 15 October 2026.

The chair, Catherine Hankinson, found that Smith breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Discreditable Conduct and Orders and Instructions. The breaches amounted to gross misconduct.

Smith resigned from Greater Manchester Police on 11 September 2026. He did not attend the hearing and had not provided a response to the allegations.

The first incident happened on 3 August 2024, when Smith was off duty. He used his police-issued mobile to make two calls to a number attributed to an adult sex worker, at 10.23am and 10.27am, before sending a text message at 10.28am.

The following month, on 5 September, Smith used the same device to call another number attributed to an adult sex worker at 10.39pm. He was on duty at the time, with records showing that he finished work at 11pm.

Between 10.26pm and 10.44pm that evening, he also searched six telephone numbers attributed to adult sex workers through PoliceWorks. One was the number he called that night.

The chair found there was sufficient evidence to prove the allegations. Smith had provided no account suggesting that the phone was not allocated to him or was in somebody else’s possession, and had identified no legitimate policing purpose for the contact.

Force policies permitted reasonable personal use of police devices, but the chair found that Smith’s conduct fell outside those provisions.

She also referred to a chief constable’s order issued in July 2023, highlighting national guidance that the use of a sex worker was incompatible with the role of a police officer or police staff member.

Assessing the seriousness of the misconduct, Hankinson described Smith’s actions as “intentional, deliberate and targeted” and assessed his culpability as high.

Although she recorded that there was no harm to a victim in this case, she assessed harm to the police service and public confidence as high.

“The public have a right to expect that they can trust police officers and would be concerned to hear of this behaviour whilst on and off duty,” she said.

The chair identified repeated behaviour, significant departures from instructions and Smith’s leadership position as aggravating factors. She said he should have been setting standards for his team.

Having considered his service record, she determined that Smith would have been dismissed without notice had he remained a serving officer.

She also ordered that his name be added to the College of Policing barred list.