Wirral police sergeant is sacked for visiting prostitutes

Aug 13 2008 by Sue McCann, Birkenhead News

A POLICE sergeant has been sacked in disgrace after he visited prostitutes while on duty.

His actions came to light after a known sex worker in Birkenhead complained he was pestering her.

Karl Cliff, 42, an officer with 17 years’ service, was dismissed at a disciplinary panel last week after avoiding a prison sentence at a court hearing.

He had been suspended since the allegations came to light a year ago.

Cliff was caught by suspicious colleagues only months after transferring to Merseyside from Greater Manchester Police.

Soon after his arrival, a known Birkenhead sex worker complained he was pestering her, and colleagues raised questions about his behaviour after he frequently headed to red-light districts.

In court, it was said the police professional standards team began a surveillance operation and watched as Cliff, of Flint, trawled the red-light districts of Liverpool and Wallasey while he was supposed to be on patrol.

In the early hours of August 7, 2007, Cliff ignored a 999 call to reports of an ongoing burglary, insisting he was behind his desk at Bromborough police station sorting his emails.

However, he was travelling through the tunnel to Liverpool to look for sex. He was arrested at 2.25am when he was caught with a prostitute in a police car in a deserted car park behind a DIY store.

Cliff pleaded guilty at court to misconduct in public office between April 1 and August 8.

He was given an eight-month jail term, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 175 hours’ unpaid work for the community.

Barrister Donal Maguire said Cliff was suffering from depression and post-traumatic disorder because of the “harrowing events” he had seen while serving in the Royal Ulster Constabulary between 1996 and 2001.

He added the sergeant had an exemplary record during his 17 years of service.

The Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe, told Cliff his actions had brought the police into “disrepute and ridicule”.