Detective had relationship with vulnerable woman

Former DC Mark Simpson was based at Newbury Police Station

A former police detective who started a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman weeks after she asked him for advice about domestic abuse would have been sacked had he not quit.

Former DC Mark Simpson worked for Thames Valley Police's (TVP) domestic abuse investigation unit at Newbury Police Station in Berkshire until he resigned in July 2024.

A panel was told he was initially approached by the woman, who was in an abusive relationship, after she was arrested on suspicion of assaulting her boyfriend in April 2022.

A friendship became a sexual relationship within weeks and a TVP panel found Mr Simpson "knew that what he was doing was wrong but he did it anyway".

Mr Simpson conducted inappropriate searches on TVP's computer systems into the woman, referred to as Miss A, and her boyfriend. He later disclosed confidential details to her about the arrest of another woman, who Miss A knew.

He only disclosed his "potential" relationship with her to TVP in June 2023, about 14 months after it had started, which the panel said showed he was aware his failure to do so initially was a breach of professional standards.

In September 2023, Miss A was arrested at Mr Simpson's home on suspicion of assaulting him and damaging his property.

She was bailed and told to have no contact with him but the panel found they shared text messages, spoke on the phone and continued their relationship.

Mr Simpson provided a retraction statement in October 2023 and Miss A was not charged.

The panel was told that at the time of the relationship Mr Simpson had been caring for his ill father, who died in 2023, and that the stress involved "contributed towards [his] accepted poor decision making".

But the panel found Mr Simpson's conduct "clearly surpassed the threshold for gross misconduct" and that had he still been working for TVP he would have been dismissed without notice.

Mr Simpson was placed on the College of Policing's Barred List.