Policy Regarding Dating Colleagues

I read in one of the news articles that Tampa Police Department have a 3 yr old ethics policy in place which requires co-workers who are involved with each other to disclose their relationship so one can be reassigned to another shift, unit or facility. It is allegedly designed to "prohibit supervisors from overseeing people whom they are intimate with". However this seems to also include all co workers and includes "casual dating, any sexual relationship and cohabitation." The officers concerned must notify their Chief who will then implement a move to another area of one of the parties concerned. I can appreciate this policy for serious and long term relationships but for casual dating! It is difficult enough holding down a stable relationship as a police officer due to work schedules and pressures etc. The divorce rate for this ocupation speaks for itself. How does this type of policy foster a new relationship that if given time might blossom? I suspect that a lot of officers keep their relationships under their hat because of this which makes the policy meaningless. What does anybody else think?

Anyone been subject to a policy like this? How did it work?

Kes,

I once encountered officers in love as a Division Commander. They worked mirror squads on the same shift. That is, they only worked the same shift together one day a week. I didn't know anything about it until they broke up. Then the trouble began.

At one point, I prepared identical memos to caution them about their future conduct and employment. The only difference between the memos was that the names changed places. Each of them had been to my office to lodge a complaint about the other. It almost reached the point of ridiculous (they are police officers, who are well versed in the law, and they were acting like civilians who are ignorant of the remedies available to them).

On the other hand, we have several couples who are married and leading happy lives. One such couple are now retired after each having served for twenty five years. Another couple (husband a Lieutenant and wife a Sergeant) are approaching retirement in the next few years.

That is not to say that there aren't sacrifices for law enforcement couples. There certainly are. One such couple did fine until he, a sergeant working the night shift, became suspicious of her, a detective working investigations. He confirmed her infidelity with another detective. While their marriage was over, to their credit, they divorced without either of them jeopardizing their careers or sanity. They both continue to work for the department. (I expect that many would not be able to do that without one or both losing their jobs by the end.)

With regard reporting and moving officers who have elected to enter into a relationship, I suppose it might be a viable alternative for large agencies, but difficult for smaller agencies.

For one to be moved, they have impacted the life of an innocent third party. The person who is asked to trade positions with one of the amorous officers. That person might both resent the behavior of the officers and the administration for bringing them into the mix by moving them. That is, the officer would have been left alone had it not been for the behavior of the other two.

Certainly not an easy issue to deal with, and each relationship is as different as the personalities involved. God bless those who find themselves in love, but best to look for romance somewhere other than the workplace in my view.