Police sergeant sacked for having sex on night shifts

Sergeant Alan Ward, 40, a response officer based at Bognor, was the subject of a public Special Case (Fast Track) hearing at Sussex Police headquarters, in Lewes, on Tuesday where he faced allegations of breaching standards of professional behaviour in respect of duties and responsibilities and discreditable conduct.

At the hearing, chief constable of Sussex Police Giles York said Sergeant Ward, who was not present at the hearing, had spent time at the addresses of two separate women while on duty for 27 out of 56 night shifts between January 1 and September 30 this year.

Sergeant Ward’s location had been discovered by tracking the GPS on his police radio, according to chief constable York.

On a separate occasion, on Friday, October 6, 2017, officers from Sussex Police’s professional standards department, alerted by information received via the force’s confidential reporting website, discovered Sergeant Ward at an address in Bognor Regis between the hours of 9.25pm and 11pm, while on duty.

On that occasion, Sergeant Ward was engaged in sexual activity with a female.

Chief constable York found both allegations against Sergeant Ward and dismissed him with immediate effect following a 30 minute adjournment on Tuesday evening.

Sergeant Ward had previously admitted the allegations against him.

Summing up, Chief Constable York said: ‘In considering the allegations against Mr Ward, it must be considered whether his actions amount to gross misconduct.

‘In his role as a sergeant, he was there to serve his community and failed to be there for them on a number of occasions.

‘Mr Ward has let down the code of ethics for policing, let down the police and let down the public of Sussex by not fulfilling the role of a police officer at a time when the pressure on my staff is so high.

‘I therefore believe the appropriate sanction for Mr Ward is dismissal with immediate effect.’

Sergeant Ward joined Sussex Police in March 2001 and had served as a sergeant for 10 years.