A serving Met officer has been dismissed without notice for unwanted sexual behaviour towards a number of his colleagues.
Detective Sergeant Gethin Jones, attached to the West Area’s Public Protection team, appeared before a misconduct hearing which concluded on Wednesday, 19 March.
The panel considered all of the evidence and found that DS Jones breached the standards of professional behaviour for authority, respect and courtesy, equality and diversity and discreditable conduct at a level of gross misconduct.
The panel heard that six of his colleagues made allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual and misogynistic communication.
The incidents took place between July 2019 and September 2022, both while he was on and off-duty and included comments made over phone messages as well as face-to-face.
Chief Superintendent Jill Horsfall, who leads policing for the West Area, said, “DS Jones’ behaviour was completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the Met. He made his colleagues, most of them a junior rank, feel extremely uncomfortable by his behaviour. It’s right that he has been dismissed with immediate effect.”
“Work should be a safe space, with colleagues you can trust and feel comfortable around. I would like to praise those colleagues for coming forward and reporting DS Jones’ offensive and inappropriate behaviour. I would encourage anyone else who is experiencing something similar, to do the same. Anyone who behaves in a manner like DS Jones is not fit to serve in our organisation and they will be rooted out.”
Jones will be placed on the barred list held by the College of Policing. Those appearing on the list cannot be employed by police, local policing bodies, the Independent Office for Police Conduct or His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
