Pc keeps job after station sex, but ‘predatory’ sergeant is barred

A FEMALE police officer has been allowed to continue her career after she admitted engaging in sex acts with a “predatory” sergeant at her station.

Pc Jemma Dicks was said to have brought the reputation of the police service into disrepute after she performed oral sex on Adam Reed, 40, on at least three occasions at Cardiff Central police station.

Yesterday, a misconduct hearing was told that while her actions had damaged the reputation of the police service, she had not sought to cover up the episodes and had expressed “genuine remorse”.

It also heard that “predatory” Mr Reed would have been dismissed without notice from South Wales Police for “orchestrating” the encounters, if he had not already quit after allegations were made against him. As a result of the decision his name will be placed on the policing barred list. Panel chairman Emma Boothroyd said: “The encounters were planned by former police sergeant Reed, but nevertheless Pc Dicks was aware of the purpose of meeting him.

“We do not accept that these were spur-of-the-moment encounters or that Pc Dicks was so controlled by the relationship with him that she wasn’t able to properly evaluate her actions.

“Pc Dicks volunteered the information about her sexual encounters and at no stage sought to cover it up or lie about the fact it happened. Pc Dicks’s conduct had the effect of diverting her attention from her duties and the use of the police station for these purposes was disrespectful to colleagues and members of the public. She prioritised her sexual encounter over her responsibilities as a police officer.”

Ms Boothroyd said Pc Dicks did not deliberately set out to have sex at work and was experiencing “very difficult family circumstances” at the time following the death of her police officer father. The hearing was previously told that married father-of-two Mr Reed had “manipulated” Pc Dicks during their 10-month affair, with the younger officer looking up to him as a replacement for her father, Mark Dicks.

The session was told that Pc Dicks’ decision to perform sex acts on Mr Reed between November 2017 and August 2018, once while she was on duty, was a “serious breach of professional behaviour” and gross misconduct.

The panel head also referred to testimonials from Pc Dicks’s colleagues that she was a “hard-working, diligent officer”, and that it was unlikely she would repeat her conduct. She was issued with a final written warning.

‘Pc Dicks’s conduct had the effect of diverting her attention from duties ... she prioritised sexual encounter