Ex-Sussex Police investigator jailed for misconduct in public office

A former Sussex Police investigator, who admitted misconduct in public office following our investigation, has been jailed today (16 October).

Ex-police staff member David Gamlin, 58, who was based at Worthing CID, pleaded guilty at a hearing on 30 June at Southwark Crown Court, after the IOPC investigated a report that he had abused his position for a sexual purpose.

Today he was sentenced at the same court to 12 months in jail.

Mr Gamlin admitted to having personal and sexual contact with a woman, who was in a vulnerable position as a victim of crime, to which he had been appointed the investigating officer in charge of her case.

He had sex with her when they met for the first time, visiting her at her home in June 2021 for a pre-arranged meeting to discuss the case.

They met on multiple occasions before she reported the incidents to Sussex Police in September 2021.

IOPC director Emily Barry said: “The police are there to help the members of public they serve, not exploit them. Abuse of position for a sexual purpose is a serious breach of the public’s trust and undermines confidence in policing.

“Despite knowing that police employees must not, under any circumstances, use their professional position to engage in sexual or improper emotional contact with a vulnerable person, David Gamlin took advantage of this victim of crime. He has now admitted his guilt and been held accountable for his actions.”

We began our investigation in September 2021 after we received a mandatory conduct referral from the force.

Our investigation looked at whether Mr Gamlin’s contact with the woman amounted to an abuse of his position for a sexual purpose; if he pressured her into sexual contact with the suggestion that he would help her get her children back from foster care; and whether his actions were in line with force policies and national guidelines.

During the investigation, we interviewed Mr Gamlin, examined his mobile phone and obtained an account from the woman he pursued sexual contact with.

In August 2022, we completed our investigation and sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which asked us to complete some more investigatory work before they then authorised the charge.

In March 2023, Mr Gamlin was dismissed from the force with immediate effect for gross misconduct following a disciplinary hearing, organised by Sussex Police, into his contact with the woman as well as a separate matter, relating to inappropriate sexual comments made to a female suspect. This was the subject of a linked IOPC investigation that we began in December 2021 and completed in August 2022.