Gwent Police officer's sex on duty like taking 'tea break' Published duration 16 September 2013

image caption PC Shaun Jenkins's gun was still around his ankles while he had sex with a married woman

An armed police officer who had sex on duty was not sacked because an appeals panel said it was similar to "a tea break", it has emerged.

PC Shaun Jenkins, 36, was carrying a gun when he met the married woman in a house in Caerphilly in 2010.

They had consensual sex, with his gun still around his ankles.

An appeals tribunal report concluded "it was the sort of delay that will occur if an officer goes to the toilet or into a cafe to buy a cup of tea".

Gwent Police had initially dismissed PC Jenkins for gross misconduct but he was later reinstated.

The tribunal ruled PC Jenkins could still reach his gun because it was in its holder attached to the belt of his trousers, which were around his ankles.

A report into his conduct found the act did not pose a risk to public safety because he could have been back on duty "within a minute or two".

The details of his successful appeal have been revealed under the Freedom of Information legislation.

PC Jenkins was on duty in Caerphilly in April 2010 when he invited the woman to a house for sex while a police colleague waited outside.

The whistle was blown when the woman's husband complained.

The officer had previously twice been commended for bravery, including clinging onto a woman for 75-minutes as she threatened to jump off a railway bridge.

'Bemused'

Gwent Police initially decided the officer's conduct was not a sackable offence.

He was dismissed from his job after an appeal by the IPCC, although he was reinstated following another appeal. He is now a neighbourhood beat officer after he was stripped of his firearms licence.

Head of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in Wales, Tom Davies, said the Gwent force had acted too hastily and failed to disclose the officer was on duty in its original report.

Mr Davies said he was "bemused" by the findings of the appeals tribunal which took place in May 2012.

"The finding that the gun was never out of PC Jenkins's direct and immediate control because it was in a holster, attached to his trousers, which were attached to him, albeit around his ankles, is surprising.

"I am also bemused by the panel's conclusion that his conduct did not significantly downgrade the protection to the public because there was nothing to suggest he could not have been back in the police vehicle within a minute or two.

Husband

"These findings can only undermine public confidence in the credibility of the police discipline system.

"Any officer having sex on duty is unacceptable behaviour that falls well below what is expected of all police officers."

Officials say the matter only came to light six months after the incident with the complaint by the woman's husband.

While the pair was having sex, PC Jenkins's colleague waited outside in a police patrol vehicle for 40 minutes.

A Gwent Police spokesperson said: "PC Jenkins appealed his dismissal to the Independent Police Appeals Tribunal which found in his favour and re-instated him in May 2012.