Police professional | Ex-detective could be fired for ‘inappropriate relationships’ with women

Former detective could be fired for ‘inappropriate relationships’ with women

A former Avon and Somerset Police officer who had “inappropriate sexual relationships” with two women he met while on duty would have been sacked had he not already retired.

A disciplinary hearing this week found former detective Simon Jones, 54, had committed serious ethical breaches.

The commission ruled that the former officer had abused his position and had he not already retired, he would have been dismissed without notice.

He was also accused of misleading his supervisor and the professional standards department about the nature of one of the relationships.

The former police officer was already on a police disqualification list following a separate misconduct hearing in April this year over discriminatory messages he sent about two black colleagues.

The investigation into the conduct of Detective Con Jones, who retired in January, was carried out by Avon and Somerset Police’s Corruption Unit (CCU), which operates under the direction of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

A gross misconduct hearing heard the then-police officer had engaged in relationships with two women in 2017 and 2019 while he was the officer in charge of investigating two separate criminal cases.

Analysis of his work and personal phones revealed a series of flirtatious messages he exchanged with both women. Other evidence showed his digital devices were repeatedly found at the address of one of the women who spent the night, as well as at the hotels where she stayed.

The IOPC said he also advised one of the women to buy a prepaid phone to help conceal the relationship.

“During an ethics interview with police in 2020 about one relationship, Det Con Jones described it as platonic. Despite being told to end it, the evidence suggests he continued the intimate relationship,” the IOPC said.

The former officer was arrested in 2021 on those charges.

Avon and Somerset Police said former Det Con Jones was asked to investigate an assault on a teenage child in early 2017. Due to the age of the victim, the boy’s mother was the officer’s point of contact in the case, so he could provide updates as the investigation progressed.

The team learned that the content of messages exchanged between the pair evolved from professional to personal, leading to an “inappropriate relationship between a man and a woman while a criminal investigation was ongoing.”

The pair continued to text each other after the investigation concluded, with no police purpose. They remained in a relationship for several years.

In late 2019, former detective Con Jones was assigned to investigate an alleged crime involving a woman.

It is claimed that the couple’s relationship turned from professional to personal within months of the investigation beginning.

“In August 2020, we received an anonymous report that former Detective Con Jones had entered into a relationship with a ‘crime victim,’” police said.

“We reviewed his company mobile phone bills and discovered that he had been in very frequent contact with this woman, which continued after the criminal investigation had concluded and there was again no reason for the police to contact her.

“Former DC Jones denied there was anything more than common interest between them when asked about it during an ethics interview in September 2020.

“He was advised to have no further contact with the woman and to notify his supervisor if she tried to contact him.”

A month later, former Detective Jones sent an email to the police’s Professional Standards Department in which he claimed he had “acted on the advice given to him”, which he knew was not true, Avon and Somerset Police said.

“In November 2020, we received information about former Detective Con Jones’ previous relationship with his mother, whom he met in 2017,” it added.

Due to the nature of the allegations, the case was compulsorily referred to the IOPC.

“We have been instructed to conduct investigations into crimes and abuse under the supervision of the IOPC,” the unit said.

“During the investigation, former Detective Jones’ electronic devices were searched, which helped determine the nature of his relationships with both women.

“The file was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service under the direction of the IOPC, which concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring a criminal charge. However, misconduct proceedings against the former officer continued, culminating in a hearing this week.”

The panel found that former Detective Connstable abused his position as a police officer by entering into and/or continuing an inappropriate sexual and/or emotional relationship with two individuals he encountered in the course of his duties.

He was further found to have misled the CCU regarding the existence and nature of his relationship with the second woman.

The commission found that former detective Con Jones had breached three standards of professional conduct, namely honesty and integrity, authority, respect and courtesy, and had also breached the rules of conduct deserving of condemnation.

Avon and Somerset Police said there was no suggestion that former Detective Jones’ criminal investigations were influenced by his relationship with either woman.

Police added: “Former Det Con Jones was already on the exclusion list following a separate misconduct hearing in April 2024 in relation to discriminatory messages he sent to two black colleagues in 2020. The messages came to light during a CCU investigation into his inappropriate relationships with two women.”

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Edgington, head of the Department of Professional Standards, said: “There is no place in the police or any other law enforcement agency for someone who behaves in the way Simon Jones does.

“One of the women he tried to start a relationship with was a mother whose child had been attacked, and the other reported being the victim of a crime.

“Whether or not either woman felt vulnerable at the time, both sought the help of the police. Any police officer should recognise that it would be completely inappropriate to seek any personal relationship with a member of the public in such circumstances, particularly when conducting a criminal investigation directly involving that person or their family.

“Former Detective Jones was an officer with over 20 years of experience and it is abundantly clear that he knew what he was doing was wrong.

“He deliberately acted dishonestly when accused and tried to cover his tracks in various ways when he feared the truth would come out.

“We are grateful to those individuals who provided us with this information as it not only allowed us to take legal action against him in relation to these matters but also exposed the abhorrent messages he sent about his colleagues.

“We hope this outcome will reassure the public and that we will take decisive action to remove any officer found to be behaving in such an inappropriate manner.”

IOPC Chief Operating Officer Steve Noonan said: “Det Con Jones’ actions in sending a large number of messages and forming relationships with women he met through his policing duties were completely inappropriate. He continued these relationships for a number of years.

“Due to his training, his role and the clear guidance he received from police officers about maintaining professional boundaries, he must have known that his behaviour was inappropriate.

“The public expects police officers to protect them; that is their role. When that role is compromised by officers or employees who abuse their position for sexual purposes, that behaviour amounts to serious corruption.”