Police officer resigns after being caught in 'sex act' while parked in Edinburgh

Constable Paul Dewar will leave Police Scotland nearly 10 months after he was suspended over the incident.

The Daily Record reports that Dewar was traced by colleagues after the women saw him abusing himself in a car outside a block of flats in the south of the city last October.

The women are understood to have taken down the car number plate and reported the offence to police. Officers then traced the car back to Dewar.

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Neither woman was able to see his face and prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

But police chiefs brought misconduct proceedings against the 28-year-old and he was suspended from duty.

Dewar had also received a police caution in 2018 for shoplifting. He stole sweets from a Tesco store in Inverness and was said to have lied about his occupation when quizzed by police.

Superintendent Derek Hiley said: “A 28-year-old officer was reported to the Procurator Fiscal following an alleged theft while off-duty in Inverness in September last year.

“Police Scotland responded to an alleged incident of public indecency in Edinburgh in October last year, however there was insufficient evidence to identify the person responsible.

“The vast majority of our officers and staff conduct themselves to the high standards expected of them.

“It is essential the public have trust and confidence in the police and where inappropriate conduct is brought to our attention it is taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.”

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