South Wales Police officer avoids sack for lunchtime sex

A police officer who had sex with his girlfriend four times while on duty has avoided being sacked by "a whisker".

A South Wales Police disciplinary panel issued the officer from Swansea, who cannot be named for legal reasons, with a final written warning on Tuesday.

In November and December of 2018 the officer also went to the gym, visited his girlfriend and another family member during working hours.

He claimed he was told by senior officers he could manage his own hours.

The hearing's chairman Oliver Thorne told him he "let the force down and you have let yourself down".

He added that the officer, who is in his 40s, had come "within a whisker" of losing his job.

The officer would change out of his police-issued top, leave his radio behind and drive to the woman's home, a short distance from his station.

The hearing was told he spent up to 45 minutes at the house before returning to duty.

He said he did not know he was not allowed to leave work during his lunch break to be with the woman, known only as Miss A.

Mr Thorne said the officer had breached the College of Policing code of ethics which said officers must not engage in sexual conduct or other in appropriate behaviour while on duty.

"The public would be deeply concerned that an officer would make himself unavailable in order to have sex," said Mr Thorne.

He said there had been a deliberate breach of standards and responsibilities amounting to gross misconduct.

Representing the officer, Christopher Rees KC said the officer had been under overwhelming stress in his personal life at the time of the events.

He said the officer became infatuated with the woman which had led to "a series of poor decisions which this officer has acknowledged".