A senior detective with the Hampshire Constabulary has been found guilty of misconduct following an 18-month affair with a married colleague. Detective Sergeant Andrew Hedley, 52, admitted to kissing the officer in an unmarked police car, which they used for top-secret stake-out missions.
Hedley and the female officer, referred to as PC A, were part of an organised crime unit and frequently deployed together across the country. The misconduct hearing found that they also had sexual relations in hotels while off-shift. Hedley maintained that any kissing in the unmarked car occurred after deployments ended and that they were never intimate while on duty.
The relationship concluded in December 2024 when PC A's husband discovered it. Hedley was found guilty of misconduct for failing to disclose the relationship and for kissing PC A in the unmarked vehicle. At the hearing, Hedley stated he did not disclose the affair due to concerns about the repercussions on both their personal lives. He has received a written warning valid for 18 months.
During the time of the misconduct, Hedley was attached to the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), working on operations involving human trafficking, firearms, and drugs. He joined Hampshire Constabulary in 1996 and moved to SEROCU in 2019 after a period in counterterrorism. Following the exposure of the affair, he returned to Hampshire Constabulary, as he was no longer permitted to work with PC A.
Representing the police force, Charles Apthorp noted that Hedley, who was acting as a Detective Inspector at the time, had been a police officer for approximately 30 years and was well-versed in the constabulary's standards and ethics. Apthorp emphasized that the allegations centered on the risks associated with such relationships and the requirement to report them, calling the lack of disclosure a serious breach.
Hedley testified that he had stayed in a hotel with PC A on seven occasions over the 18 months, always when deployed on overnight operations. He reiterated that he never engaged in sexual relations while on duty. He admitted to the affair and the kissing incident in the unmarked car, describing the vehicle as an