A THAMES Valley Police officer is accused of having a relationship with a woman he met in an investigation.

The officer, whose identity has been kept a secret, will now face a misconduct hearing behind closed doors.  

It is alleged that between September 2019 and January 2020 he met a woman, known as Mrs X, through an investigation into her relative Mr Y.

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When it closed the officer sent text messages and emails to Mrs X before deleting them.

He is also accused of lying to his supervisor about how he met Mrs X and failing to properly change his relationship circumstances to the forces vetting department.

The accusations are so serious that if he is found guilty he would have committed gross misconduct and could be fired on the spot.

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At the misconduct hearing on January 7 and 8 next year an independent party will listen to the evidence at the police HQ in Kidlington and decide if he broke the ‘Standards of Professional Behaviour’ in relation to the codes:

  • Authority
  • Respect and courtesy
  • Discreditable conduct
  • Honesty and integrity
  • Duties and responsibility

The chair of the meeting has put reporting restrictions in place, hiding the names of the officer, the identity of others involved as well as ‘operational details’.

The misconduct hearing is also closed to members of the public because of the pandemic and cannot be held virtually for ‘health and safety’.  

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