Shamraze Arshad: Ex-Greater Manchester Police officer jailed after forming sexual relationship with victim

Shamraze Arshad, 38, from Bolton was sacked from Greater Manchester Police in January this year following a trial in July 2023 that found him guilty of perverting the course of justice and data misuse as part of the same case.

Arshad, who was a PC based at Longsight, had been using police systems while off-duty and without a policing purpose, the police said. Subsequent enquiries found he had been making a large volume of contact with a particular number from his work phone. The number belonged to a woman who Arshad had previously responded to after a 999 call about concern for her welfare in October 2020.

He was arrested and suspended in July 2021. Despite being released on bail with conditions not to contact the woman, Arshad went to her address and told her housemates to pass on a message that she shouldn’t tell the police anything about their relationship. He was arrested the following day for attempting to pervert the course of justice and later charged.

He was convicted by a jury on Thursday (June 13) of misconduct in a public office following a retrial at Liverpool Crown Court and was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday (June 14). He is also at risk of losing his police pension.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Jones, of 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.”