Misconduct allegations taken 'very seriously, insists Hampshire police as three complaints result in no action against officers

Since its inception four years ago, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), has dealt with three complaints in Hampshire - two of which were historic.

In two of these cases management action was taken against call handlers and in another it was ruled no further action was required against the officer.

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said: ‘Hampshire Constabulary has robust procedures in place to deal with misconduct. We are absolutely clear that all officers and staff must adhere to the standards of behaviour expected of them due to their positions within society and we are proactive in taking action against those who fall below those standards.

‘Any allegation against a police officer is taken extremely seriously and thoroughly investigated by our professional standards department with oversight from the Independent Office for Police Conduct where required.’

In the first of the IOPC cases a family made a complaint against Hampshire police in 2015 after they made a 999 call requesting assistance with her son, who had bipolar disorder and was suicidal.

The mother informed the call handler that her son was in the swimming pool at her house. The call handler made the decision that police deployment was not appropriate in the circumstances, and called an ambulance.

The woman’s son drowned.

It was ruled: ‘There was a case to answer for misconduct and proposed to deal with this through management action for the call handler, involving a clear improvement plan and ongoing supervisory monitoring.’

Then in 2016 a complaint was issued after a member of the public made a 999 call to Hampshire Constabulary and reported that there was a drunk, unconscious man outside his hostel room in Winchester.

No police or ambulance units were dispatched. Later that morning the man who had been reported as drunk and unconscious was found dead outside the hostel room.

Again it was ruled that management action was required for the call handler.

Later, in 2018, a misconduct case was reported to the IOPC after a Hampshire police officer was recorded saying: ‘I know you’re Aldershot because you’re black and you stick out like a sore thumb’ to a young man at a football match.

The investigation found evidence that the same officer ‘may have behaved in an aggressive manner’ towards other young people who had attended.

However, at the misconduct meeting held in spring 2019 it was ruled that the officer had been offensive to the young man but that no further action was required.

SEE ALSO: Man attempts to steal pedestrian’s wallet in Portsmouth

The spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary added: ‘The three cases referred to were heard under the police conduct regulations in place at the time, which provided five available outcomes at a misconduct hearing with the lowest sanction available being management advice if misconduct is proven.

‘This was changed under the 2020 regulations with only written warnings and final written warnings being available.

‘Each case is assessed individually on the information obtained during the investigation, which includes obtaining statements and conducting interviews with all affected parties, analysis of police data and reviewing force policies and procedures.

‘The information is then put before a misconduct panel, which considers all of the evidence and determines the appropriate outcome.’

It comes as the IOPC has faced criticism nationally, with the home affairs select committee launching a new inquiry into its effectiveness at the start of 2021.

Deborah Coles, executive director of charity Inquest, told the committee that sanctions against police officers were too rare and the lack of punishment risked undermining confidence in policing.

And now an investigation by the BBC has shown across England and Wales 418 misconduct cases were held by forces following an initial investigation by the IOPC, with 266 of these ruling that officers had committed misconduct or gross misconduct.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Subscribe here for unlimited access to all our coverage, including Pompey, for just 26p a day.