Undercover police officers can never be authorised to start sexual relationships with those they are targeting under official guidelines published for the first time.

The instructions, in an 80-page document, also state that taking drugs cannot be approved as a tactic for covert units.



National guidance on undercover policing, which is being made public by the College of Policing, the professional standards body for the police service, states that it is “never acceptable” for an undercover operative to have sex with those they are investigating.

Launching a consultation on the guidance, Alex Marshall, the chief executive of the College of Policing, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s never acceptable for an undercover officer to form an intimate sexual relationship with the people they’re targeting or they meet while carrying out these duties.”

Marshall said undercover policing should only be used for “people who represent a risk to the public”.

The guidance prohibits officers to “form an intimate sexual relationship with those they are employed to infiltrate and target or may encounter during their deployment”.

It adds: “This conduct will never be authorised, nor must it ever be used as a tactic of a deployment.”

Undercover policing was subject to increased scrutiny following revelations in the Guardian about a secretive Scotland Yard unit known as the Special Demonstrations Squad (SDS).

Undercover officers have been found to have formed long-term intimate relationships with women during their missions, gathered intelligence about the relatives of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence and other grieving families campaigning for justice, and concealed evidence in court cases.

Many of the undercover spies secretly stole the identities of dead children to help develop their fake personas, without consulting or informing the children’s parents.

Scotland Yard has made payouts to several women who unwittingly became involved in relationships with undercover officers. A judge-led inquiry into undercover policing in England and Wales was launched last year.

The guidance says that if an undercover officer engages in unauthorised sexual activity for whatever reason – for example, they perceive an immediate threat to themselves or others if they do not do so – then this “will be restricted to the minimum conduct necessary to mitigate the threat”.



This would then be recorded, reported and the circumstances investigated. The position set out on sexual activity was described as a “much stronger and unequivocal statement” compared with previous guidelines.

Conduct may be authorised that involves “communications of a sexual nature” where the authorising officer believes it is “necessary and proportionate to operational objectives”, the guidance adds.

Taking controlled drugs “will not be authorised as a tactic of a deployment” but if an officer does so because they perceive an immediate threat this should be limited to the minimum extent necessary to mitigate the threat.

The document also says that for an undercover deployment to be effective it may be necessary for personnel to participate in criminal activity about which they have been tasked to report. It warns all undercover unit staff should be aware of the dangers posed through “exposure in true identity” on social media.

Undercover policing is used by forces across England and Wales to obtain evidence and intelligence. “Foundation” operatives carry out low-level infiltration, for example buying drugs on the street. An “advanced” operative is trained to undertake higher-level infiltrations in which they must be able to withstand intense scrutiny, such as counter-terrorism work.

The draft guidance is being published at the start of a consultation, with the final version released later this year.

It says operatives can only work once they have been accredited and should undergo psychological or personality assessments.

Marshall described undercover policing as an “essential tactic” to protect the public, save lives and bring serious criminals to justice.

He said: “By publishing the vast majority of the guidance, withholding only operational tactics which would no longer be viable if shared, we want the public to see the measures we have in place to ensure undercover policing is used in a way that is proportionate, lawful and ethical.”

Lawyer Jules Carey, of Bindmans, who is representing individuals affected by undercover policing, said: “It is disappointing that the guidance fails to spell out that in a democracy the first consideration should be whether it is necessary to use an undercover officer at all, or whether the intelligence could be obtained through some other means.

“The guidance should also make it clear that the degree of intrusion should be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime being investigated.”