Eleven police officers have been served with misconduct notices after offensive messages were allegedly found on the phone of a dead colleague. Ricky Jones retired after 26 years as a cop and after he died recently, his eldest daughter Emma looked through his iPhone.
She allegedly found messages that appeared to indicate a culture of corruption and "sexual harassment of junior female colleagues" within Gwent Police. The phone allegedly highlighted racist, sexist, and misogynistic messages shared between officers.
The force's Chief Constable, Pam Kelly, had previously said that Wiltshire Police has launched an independent investigation into what she labelled as a "toxic culture". The issue was also referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), reports Wales Online.
The police watchdog stated that, since enquiries started, they have issued notices on 11 current or former Gwent Police officers, informing them that they under investigation. It was announced in November that three officers had been suspended.
They have also served gross misconduct notices on another two current and two former police officers. And a notice at misconduct level on a serving officer. These notices advise an officer that their conduct is subject to a probe and do not always mean that disciplinary charges will follow.
Another four Gwent Police officers have also been served notices at the level of misconduct, three serving and one former, who have been identified as being involved in a WhatsApp group. Allegations that they failed to challenge or report inappropriate messages sent by colleagues are being examined.
As well as the above, two serving officers are under a criminal investigation for the alleged unauthorised disclosure of police information to the retired Ricky Jones after he had left Gwent Police. Both have been served with gross misconduct notices but are not under investigation over the offensive messages.
IOPC Director David Ford said: “Our investigation is examining the exchange of messages, unauthorised sharing of police information, and whether any serving officers failed to challenge or report the conduct of their colleagues. The officers who are subject to investigation range from police constable to inspecting ranks.
"We will keep the involvement of any other officers under review as any further information comes to light. We are also investigating when Gwent Police became aware of Ricky Jones’ family’s concerns about the messages and what steps the force took to explore them.
“We will progress the investigation as swiftly as possible, but given the number of officers and the non-recent nature of the alleged conduct, enquiries will take some time.”
Reports of the content of the messages published in the Sunday Times included:
• Jokes between a serving and retired officer about Jimmy Savile, the late sexual predator and BBC DJ, being sent to rescue 12 schoolboys who in 2018 were trapped in caves in Thailand. One was a picture of Savile with the quote “12 Thai school boys need rescuing? You need...”
• Videos sent by a serving officer showing a woman stripping and inserting objects into herself as part of a “magic show”.
• A former officer saying of Gwent Police: “When you look at the sex pests, drink drivers and wife beaters still sitting cosy up there its wrong”.
• Officers saying a colleague carried a “sex kit” in the boot of his car.
• A retired officer sharing a news article about men assaulting women at railway stations to a serving officer, alongside the caption: “Seen [name of officer] recently?”
• A retired officer saying of a female officer: “I actually got her to lift her skirt in Cardiff once.”
A separate Wiltshire Police investigation is ongoing into a series of complaints from the family of Ricky Jones. This relates to Gwent Police’s handling of its investigation into his death and officers’ contact with his relatives.
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