A SERVING police officer has been dismissed after he was found to have drugs in his system while he was on duty.

A drug test in September 2021 found PC Adam Phillips had anabolic steroids – a class C drug – in his system.

He was suspended from duty after the sample results were returned, Essex Police said.

Mr Phillips was dismissed from the force after a three-day misconduct hearing at Chelmsford Civic Centre last week.

The former police officer will also be added to the College of Policing’s “barred” list after the panel found the allegations against him to be proven.

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Deputy Chief Constable Andy Prophet said: “The panel found former PC Phillips had knowingly taken class C drugs and had them in his system while on duty. This is entirely unacceptable, and he has rightly been dismissed.

“We will support officers who make an honest mistake for the right reason, but when someone has knowingly behaved in a way which is wrong, we will take robust action as we have done in this case.

“I want the public to have confidence in our officers because the overwhelming majority are committed to helping them and keeping them safe, but on the very small number of occasions where someone falls below the high standards we expect, they are dealt with.”