Ex-Met Officer Caught in Shocking Abuse Scandal
A misconduct hearing at Empress State Building, SW6, exposed former Detective Constable Joseph Gilligan’s vile behaviour during his time in the North West Basic Command Unit. The hearing ran from March 22 to 25 and revealed a string of serious abuses of power.
Sexual Relationship with Victim and Data Breaches
On March 26, 2019, Gilligan was made officer-in-charge of a domestic abuse case involving a woman and her former partner. By June 20, 2019, he had crossed the line, starting an improper sexual relationship with the victim he was supposed to be protecting.
Things got worse. On October 28, 2019, Gilligan shared sensitive images and footage from a separate serious sexual assault investigation with the same victim—without authorisation.
Between January and February 2020, he performed four unauthorised searches involving the victim and her ex-partner, with no policing reason whatsoever.
Illegal Phone Access and Cover-Up Lies
From December 1 to 11, 2019, Gilligan illegally accessed the victim’s phone three times—twice at her home and once at the police station. He viewed and deleted photos, read texts, and even filmed himself reading a message before sending the recording to others.
On December 19, 2019, he also forwarded confidential Met police emails about criminal cases to his personal email account—a blatant breach of confidentiality.
Adding insult to injury, on November 29, 2019, Gilligan crashed his car in a police station car park while allegedly over the drink-drive limit. Instead of reporting the accident immediately, he lied about the cause, claiming a diabetic episode.
Gross Misconduct Found – Career Finished
The panel, led by independent chair Cameron Brown, ruled that Gilligan’s actions were gross misconduct across multiple categories, including discreditable conduct, confidentiality breaches, honesty, and abuse of authority.
Gilligan quit the Met in February 2021. Had he stayed, he would have been sacked without notice.
Chief Superintendent Sara Leach, North West Area Basic Command Unit, said: “Former DC Gilligan’s behaviour was completely unacceptable. People like him are not welcome in our Met. Officers must protect victims—not exploit them.
“The public’s trust is vital. Our communities deserve police who uphold the highest standards. We will root out wrong-doing and hold officers to account.”
Barred for Life from UK Policing
Gilligan will be placed on the barred list by the College of Policing, preventing him from working in police or related public safety roles across the UK.
The Met is already tackling wider issues. They’ve launched two independent reviews, increased investigators, and are examining all sexual and domestic abuse cases involving officers.
They vow to act swiftly to rebuild public trust – making it clear that misconduct like Gilligan’s will never be tolerated.
