Former Hampshire Police Chief Committed Gross Misconduct, Panel Finds
Former Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Constable Scott Chilton, 53, committed gross misconduct through consensual sexual relationships with two subordinate officers and repeated dishonesty about them, a misconduct panel concluded after a hearing in Eastleigh, Hampshire. Gross misconduct is the most serious category of police rule-breaking. Chilton had already retired. The Guardian
The panel said the relationships were consensual and that was not the question before it. It said the questions were rank, power and honesty.
The first relationship was with an officer identified as Officer A. It took place when Chilton was a chief inspector or superintendent, both senior management ranks. It included sexual activity while he was on duty. On one occasion, the panel found, he was in silver command. That is the role of the officer who would take charge if a major incident occurred. The Guardian
The second relationship was with an officer identified as Officer B. It began within weeks of Chilton becoming chief constable, the officer with overall command of a local force, in February 2023. The panel found that he abused his position for a sexual purpose in that relationship and that he should have declared it under force rules. It also found that he pressured Officer B to conceal the relationship, including by asking her to delete messages. The Guardian
The panel also examined Chilton's accounts of his conduct. It found that he repetitively and dishonestly denied his relationship with Officer A, both when he applied to become chief constable and during his time in the post. The panel also heard that he tried to prevent an investigation into his workplace relationship. BBC
The hearing was chaired by Michelle Skeer of His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, which inspects police forces. It followed a process that had played out in public for more than a year. Chilton had 31 years of policing experience when he was announced as chief constable in February 2023. He was served by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the independent body that investigates the most serious complaints against police, with a notice that he was under investigation for potential gross misconduct. He then retired after 33 years. The retirement was announced in April 2025 by the Hampshire police and crime commissioner, the elected official who appoints the chief constable, and was followed by a force statement from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. The Guardian
On 12 January 2026, the IOPC announced that the former chief constable would face a gross misconduct hearing following its investigation into workplace relationships. The Hampshire police and crime commissioner then set the hearing to begin on Monday 5 October 2026. Independent Office for Police Conduct
Chilton admitted misconduct over an affair. But he denied that any of his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and denied misusing his authority in a workplace affair. BBC
The broader context here is the extra weight placed on honesty at chief-officer level in England. Think of a chief constable as the chief executive of a local force, with sole direction of operations and control over local policy on relationships that must be declared. That is why a failure to declare a relationship with a subordinate, combined with sexual activity while on duty and in command, is judged against standards on authority, respect, honesty and discreditable conduct in a different way than the same facts at junior rank.
Looking at what this means for the institutions involved, the case centers less on the existence of the relationships than on concealment and command risk. The findings on dishonest denial during recruitment, non-declaration after appointment, and deletion of messages describe a sequence in which oversight depended on self-disclosure. For police and crime commissioners, who appoint chiefs but do not direct operations, and for the IOPC, that record will likely draw close attention to vetting, how past associations are checked at appointment, and how forces handle reports of senior-subordinate relationships once a chief is in post.
