The UK Metropolitan police have sacked a senior Met special constabulary officer, James Deller, without notice for using his work phone to capture images of a sexual nature.
Mr Deller used his police-issued work phone to photograph images of a sexual nature sent to his personal device on two occasions in July and August 2025, an accelerated misconduct hearing held on Friday, October 9 found.
“The photographs, which showed intimate images of a woman, were originally sent to him using WhatsApp’s ‘View Once’ function. Deller sent both photographs from his work phone to his personal one, before going on to delete them,” the hearing noted.
According to the police, Mr Deller’s actions were uncovered as part of Project Galatasaray–a week of action using advanced technologies to tackle corruption and professional misconduct in the Met.
“The vast majority of Met officers and staff serve London with dedication and integrity, and they rightly expect robust action against the small minority who abuse their position and undermine public trust,” Commander Pete Stevens said.
He added, “SCO Deller failed to meet that bar. He let himself down but more importantly, he let the Special Constabulary down. His actions were an abuse of the trust put in him and it is right that he is no longer able to serve in policing.”
The police said Mr Deller would be added to the College of Policing’s barred list and ineligible to serve in policing again.
The police added that the Met was reviewing the future leadership and structure of the special constabulary as part of ongoing work to improve professional standards.