Misconduct notices have been served on 11 Gwent Police officers as part of an investigation into allegations of offensive messages found on a phone of a dead police officer. Ricky Jones — who spent 26 years as a police officer before retirement — died in 2020, before his eldest daughter Emma looked through his iPhone and allegely found evidence of a culture of "sexual harassment of junior female colleagues" and corruption in the force.
Gwent Police's Chief Constable Pam Kelly had previosuly said that Wiltshire Police is conducting an independent investigation on behalf of the force into what she called a "toxic culture" after the messages were found which showed officers shared racist, sexist, and misogynistic messages. The matter was also referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The police watchdog say that while their investigation into the conduct of a number of Gwent Police officers linked to the alleged messages is ongoing, since enquiries started they have served notices on 11 current or former Gwent Police officers to indicate that their conduct is under investigation. In November it was announced three officers had been suspended.
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As part of this, they have served gross misconduct notices on two current and two former police officers. They have also issued a notice at misconduct level on a serving officer. The notices relate to offensive or inappropriate messages discovered on the phone of the deceased former officer. Such notices advise officers their conduct is subject to investigation and do not necessarily mean any disciplinary charges will follow.
They have also served notices at the level of misconduct on a further four Gwent Police officers, three serving and one former, who have been identified as being involved in a WhatsApp group where messages were shared. They are examining allegations that they failed to challenge or report inappropriate messages sent by colleagues.
In addition, two serving officers are under criminal investigation for the alleged unauthorised disclosure of police information to Ricky Jones after he had left Gwent Police. These two officers have been served with gross misconduct notices. They are not being investigated over 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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