A senior Wellington police officer has resigned after his superiors found out about an affair he had with a junior colleague.
Superintendent Jon Moss was in charge of the department that recently ordered police officers to disclose office romances, but resigned from his Wellington-based role after failing to report his relationship with a constable, The Weekend Herald reported.
Police national headquarters confirmed Mr Moss has resigned.
The newspaper said it understood the woman involved was no longer a police officer.
Mr Moss helped introduce the new "professional distance policy" last year which covers sexual conduct for officers with the public, victims of crime and work colleagues.
The affair occurred before the new rules were introduced however, it was believed Mr Moss resigned because the affair could be perceived as hypocritical of his role as the national head of police professional standards.
According to the new policy, relationships between officers where there is a "power imbalance" - such as supervisor and employee - are considered unethical.
The relationship must be declared if the senior officer cannot "take steps to manage the risks to the organisation".
