Former Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Constable Scott Chilton has been found guilty of gross misconduct after an independent panel concluded he repeatedly lied about relationships with junior officers and attempted to undermine the investigation into his conduct.
The panel found all four allegations against Mr Chilton proven and said his behaviour involved “calculated and manipulative tactics” designed to frustrate misconduct proceedings.
It concluded that dismissal would have been justified had he still been serving.
Public misconduct hearings are used to determine serious allegations against officers and can result in findings of gross misconduct where standards of professional behaviour have been breached.
Panel finds ‘persistent dishonesty’
The hearing centred on Mr Chilton’s relationships with two subordinate officers, referred to as Officer A and Officer B.
The panel found he had failed to disclose a previous sexual relationship with Officer A and repeatedly denied that relationship despite what it described as overwhelming evidence.
It also concluded he attempted to discredit the officer and minimise the impact of the allegations once they became known.
The panel found Mr Chilton had sex with Officer A while on duty as a superintendent and acting as “Force Silver”, the officer responsible for coordinating the response to major incidents.
It concluded that such conduct would be regarded by the public as wholly unacceptable.
Abuse of position finding
A separate allegation concerned a relationship with Officer B.
The panel found that Mr Chilton abused his position for a sexual purpose and took advantage of the imbalance of power between himself, as chief constable, and a junior officer.
It also found that he failed to properly disclose that relationship and later attempted to keep it hidden.
According to the panel, Mr Chilton asked Officer B to delete messages and put pressure on her not to reveal the relationship.
The panel said asking another officer to delete evidence and attempting to influence her into remaining silent would undermine confidence in both the force and the misconduct process.
‘Domineering and abusive’
The panel also criticised Mr Chilton’s behaviour during a meeting on February 12, 2025, when allegations against him were being discussed.
It found he had been “domineering and abusive” towards senior colleagues and failed to remove himself from discussions despite having a clear conflict of interest.
The panel said his behaviour demonstrated a disregard for the office of Chief Constable and concluded that he appeared to believe staff served him personally rather than the office he held.
All four allegations amounted to gross misconduct
The panel concluded that Mr Chilton’s actions were intentional, deliberate and planned.
It found a pattern of dishonesty stretching from his application to become chief constable through his leadership of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and into the later misconduct investigation.
The panel said his conduct caused significant reputational harm to both Hampshire policing and policing nationally.
All four charges were found proven and each was ruled to amount to gross misconduct.
The findings mean Mr Chilton would have been dismissed had he remained a serving officer.
