James Deller, the force’s Special Chief Officer, was sacked without notice after an accelerated misconduct hearing, and will now be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list.
The Metropolitan Police’s Special Chief Officer, James Deller, has been dismissed without notice after an accelerated misconduct hearing on Friday 9 October. The hearing found that on two occasions in July and August 2025 he used his police-issued work phone to photograph intimate images of a woman. The images had been sent to his personal device. His conduct came to light during Project Galatasaray, a week of action by the force to tackle corruption and professional misconduct.
What the hearing found
According to the Met, the photographs were originally sent to Mr Deller through WhatsApp’s “View Once” function. The hearing found that he used his work phone to capture them, sent both from that phone to his personal one, and then deleted them.
The force said lawful business monitoring identified that the images had been moved between his devices between 7 July and 12 August 2025. It said they had no apparent policing purpose. The allegations concerned three standards of professional behaviour: discreditable conduct, orders and instructions, and authority, respect and courtesy.
How it was uncovered
The misconduct emerged during Project Galatasaray, which uses advanced technologies to tackle corruption and professional misconduct in the force. In Mr Deller’s case, the Met said lawful business monitoring and Palantir’s Foundry system helped identify the images and other key evidence.
The Met’s response
Commander Pete Stevens said: “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.”
He said this was “particularly true” of the Special Constabulary, whose members are volunteers who “selflessly give up their time to keep London safe”. He added: “They deserve to be led by people who demonstrate the highest standards in all parts of their lives.”
“SCO Deller failed to meet that bar,” Commander Stevens said. “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.”
Barred list and the future of the force
Mr Deller will be added to the College of Policing’s barred list and will not be eligible to serve in policing again. The list is checked during police recruitment vetting. The Met said it is reviewing the future leadership and structure of the Special Constabulary as part of ongoing work to improve professional standards.
Background
Special constables are volunteers who support regular officers with duties including neighbourhood policing, public events and crime prevention. Mr Deller held a senior leadership role in the Met’s volunteer force.
The case comes amid wider efforts to strengthen police discipline. Reforms introduced in 2025 included a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct and greater use of accelerated misconduct hearings in appropriate cases.
Government figures recorded 30 special constables added to the police barred list in England and Wales in 2023/24, compared with 34 the previous year. Those figures cover a range of misconduct cases and are not limited to incidents involving intimate images.
