THE behaviour of a police officer who began a sexual relationship with a victim of domestic abuse amounted to gross misconduct, a top officer has concluded.

Details of the special case hearing, which was held behind closed doors, have now been revealed. However, the officer has not been identified for 'legal and safeguarding reasons'.

It was alleged that the officer conducted a sexual relationship with a vulnerable witness he met after a crash. As a result of this relationship, it was said, the former officer breached the police standards of professional behaviour.

A professional standards investigation was launched, although the officer resigned from Dorset Police before its conclusion.

It was heard that the officer met the female witness when he attended and then investigated a crash last year.

During his initial enquiries, the officer became aware that the witness had previously been a victim of domestic abuse.

However, days after the collision, the officer started to speak privately with the witness, and the two started a sexual relationship.

In a hearing, Chief Constable Debbie Simpson concluded the former officer would have been fully aware of the vulnerability of the witness.

The woman was vulnerable because of her background as a victim of domestic violence, as well as her involvement in the collision, it was said.

She said: “I recognise that police officers have to at all times perform to the highest standards of both professional and personal behaviour.

"The public quite rightly expects us to behave with professionalism and integrity, which engenders the trust we need to perform our roles in the most difficult of circumstances. Maintaining public trust and respect is a fundamental principal on which policing stands.

“As a result of an amendment to relevant law, a police officer now has the ability to resign from his post while under investigation for misconduct, which the involved officer has taken advantage of.

“I believe it is untenable, had the officer still been serving, to continue to hold the position of constable within the police service and I believe I would have been supported in that assertion by members of the public.

“I have concluded on the balance of probabilities that the former officer’s conduct constitutes gross misconduct and that the appropriate outcome would have been dismissal, if he had still been a member of this police force.”

The hearing took place on Tuesday, March 27 and the former officer will be placed on the police barred list.

This list holds information on individuals who have been dismissed from policing and are barred from serving in policing.