Mark Robinson and Bethany Wilkins

Introduction

Mark Robinson and Bethany Wilkins are two former Northamptonshire Police officers who were found to have committed gross misconduct at a disciplinary hearing held at the force’s headquarters on October 19, 2026. It was alleged that the two were in a relationship during the period when PC Robinson was tutoring PC Wilkins, and that when they were asked about it, they lied. Robinson attended the hearing and resigned before its conclusion; Wilkins had resigned before the hearing was held and did not attend. The panel determined that, had both still been serving officers, they would have been dismissed without notice.

Background Information

Robinson, whose collar number was recorded as PC P1056, was a serving constable tutoring Wilkins, recorded as Former PC P0729 and elsewhere in the force’s notice as Former DC Wilkins, when the alleged relationship took place. Tutoring is a formal duty in English policing: a tutor constable is responsible for the workplace training and assessment of a colleague in their early service, a relationship the standards framework treats as one requiring professional boundaries. The force alleged that the boundary was crossed — the two officers were in a relationship during the tutoring period — and that both lied when asked about it.

The officers were alleged to have breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to honesty and integrity. Robinson was alleged to have further breached the standards relating to duties and responsibilities, the standard covering the proper performance of the specific duties assigned to him, including his tutoring role.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Found grossly misconducted; would have been dismissed. The panel found the allegations against Mark Robinson and Bethany Wilkins proved as gross misconduct, and determined that both would have been dismissed without notice had they still been serving.

The gross misconduct hearing was held by Northamptonshire Police at Force Headquarters on Monday, October 19, 2026. Wilkins had resigned from the force before the hearing took place and did not attend. Robinson attended the hearing but resigned from Northamptonshire Police before its conclusion, leaving the panel to determine the case against two men and women who were, by the end of proceedings, no longer serving officers.

The panel considered the available evidence and found the matter proved as gross misconduct. It determined that, had the officers still been serving police officers, they would have been dismissed without notice — the sanction equivalent of being struck off, which in practice is recorded alongside placement on the police barred list.

In its determination, the panel stated: “There is no place for such behaviour in policing. Honesty and integrity underpin everything the public rightly expect from the police officers who serve and protect them. Dishonesty is fundamentally incompatible with every aspect of the role required of all officers. Both Officers failed to meet the high standards rightfully expected of them by the public by virtue of their conduct in this case.”

Public Reaction and Consequences

The force published the outcome publicly in early November 2026, naming both former officers and setting out the findings, a disclosure consistent with the national requirement that gross misconduct hearings be held and published in public. The outcome leaves both former officers with gross misconduct findings on the record relating to dishonesty about a workplace relationship that compromised a formal tutoring assignment.

Northamptonshire Police said in its published notice that it is “committed to delivering a policing service our communities can trust,” that it remains “as determined as ever to hold to account those whose conduct and integrity falls short of the standards expected,” and encouraged anyone with concerns about the behaviour of anyone working or volunteering in policing to report them.

Current Status

As of November 2026, neither Mark Robinson nor Bethany Wilkins is a serving police officer: Wilkins resigned before the October 19, 2026 hearing and Robinson resigned during it. Both carry the panel’s finding that they would have been dismissed without notice had they still been serving — a determination recorded against their names in the force’s published misconduct outcomes. The publication of the outcome does not record any criminal proceedings arising from the case.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Both former officers ended their policing careers by resignation rather than dismissal, but the gross misconduct findings follow them: the “would have been dismissed” determination is the finding that regulates their future employment in policing, and dishonesty findings are the category most heavily weighted by forces assessing former officers seeking to return. The panel’s published language — that dishonesty is “fundamentally incompatible” with the officer role — attached that assessment to both their names in a public record that outlasts their service.

Sources

• “Gross misconduct hearing outcome - former officers would have been dismissed” — Northamptonshire Police, Nov. 4, 2026 source