PC Darren Wright, who was sacked in October, admitted downloading, possessing and sharing pictures of child sex abuse.
Wright(38), of Chester Road in Southport, who lives with his parents, gathered the collection over a two-year period.
Robert Jones, prosecuting, said officers raided the house Wright shares with his mum and dad on June 9 last year.
Mr Jones said: “The defendant was anxious to retain I think some medical appointments from his mobile phone.
“Police said there was no difficulty in him doing that, provided it was under supervision.
“The defendant appeared to be acting rather furtively with his iPhone. In fact what he was trying to do was delete some chat conversations.
“Those chat conversations were nothing to do with indecent images, but the police did not know that at the time.”
Police seized his phone plus a HP laptop hard drive and USB stick, which Wright said he and he alone used.
The stash included 23 Category A images – the most serious category in sentencing guidelines – involving child rape.
Wright had downloaded a further 26 Category B and 1,368 Category C indecent photographs.
Describing the pictures, Mr Jones told the court: “One of those is notably a very, very young child indeed.”
He said Wright was “candid” with police during interviews and admitted sharing “some Category C images”.
Mr Jones said Wright did not have any previous convictions and “exemplary conduct within the police force”.
The judge sentenced him to six months in prison suspended for two years, plus a 35-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
Wright to sign on the Sex Offenders Register and to abide by a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for seven years.
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