Appeal ruled out over police officer's indecent image sentence

Dave Thompson, the force’s Chief Constable, called the decision to suspend the the jail term handed down to the 44-year-old, who admitted being in possession of indecent images, too lenient.

Mr Thompson called for it to be reviewed and argued: “He was sentenced to 16 months in jail, suspended for two years, having been convicted of possessing indecent images of children and misconduct in a public office.

"The public expect the protection of the police and do not expect officers to break the law. This case is very serious and the sentence, in my view, is too lenient for such crimes.”

West Midlands Police officers discussed with the Crown Prosecution Service the possibility of appealing against the sentence.

The matter was passed on to the Attorney General’s Office for a final decision and it has now been revealed the request has been rejected.

The CPS confirmed: “The Attorney General’s Office have decided not to refer the sentence of Lee Bartram to the Court of Appeal.”

Bartram, of Bustleholme Lane, West Bromwich, was given the suspended jail sentence by Judge James Burbidge QC sitting at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

The Attorney General’s office said it would only refer sentences for appeal if it was felt there had been a “gross error” made by a judge.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said: “A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence.

“The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met in this case.”