A SERVING Dorset Police officer has been found guilty of misconduct after staff spoke about performing oral sex on a colleague.

A misconduct panel heard that police staff played ‘snog marry avoid’ on a work trip and joked how much they would need to be paid to have oral sex with their female colleague.

Despite the serving police officer being found guilty of misconduct, his name and rank cannot be published due to reporting restrictions.

The team of police staff were attending a work meeting in London on April 13, 2022, and reportedly visited a number of pubs on their way home.

At around 8.30pm the group boarded their train at London Waterloo station and allegedly began to speak inappropriately about a colleague.

The panel heard that during the journey one of the staff members messaged his wife and a colleague on WhatsApp saying that he felt uncomfortable and embarrassed about what was being said.

He added that he was concerned about how loudly the group were speaking and were not being careful with what they were around the public.

The officer facing the panel was alleged to have either participated in the conversation or heard it and not put a stop to it.

He denied that any inappropriate conversation took place and said he would have intervened if it had.

The police misconduct panel chaired by David Sapiecha along with Neil Corrigan and John Evans, said the hearing has been necessary to “maintain confidence in police services.”

Mr Sapiecha said the conversation “should not have taken place at all” but that it also occurred in a public place.

The panel found that there was insufficient evidence to prove the officer engaged in the conversation but was satisfied that he would have heard it.

They ruled that he breached the standards of behaviour by failing to stop the conversation.

Mr Sapiecha added that the incident caused the woman involved “embarrassment and upset,” and although it was a single event, it was serious.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Lyne said: “I was disappointed to learn about the derogatory conversation that took place between serving members of Dorset Police staff about one of their colleagues.

“This officer failed in his duty to challenge and stop those engaged in the conversation, and the outcome of the panel reflects the seriousness of this.

“Any behavior which is contrary to the Equality Act, the Code of Ethics, and the Professional Standards of Behaviour will not be tolerated and will result in serious consequences. Such unacceptable behavior negatively impacts public confidence and damages the reputation of the Force.

“We know the vast majority of employees within the organisation are professional and do not demonstrate behaviour that has been heard in this hearing. Unfortunately, the actions of colleagues that day did not meet these high standards.

“We are committed to investigating any unethical or unacceptable behaviour relating to a member of our organisation and I would encourage members of the public to report them to the Force so they can be thoroughly investigated.”

The officer was handed a final written warning which will be in place for three years.

Due to an order made by the panel, reporting restrictions have been made against identifying the officer.