A senior Merseyside Police detective who has worked on multiple murder investigations and high profile cases has been arrested and suspended from duty.
The serving officer, a 42-year-old man, was detained on Friday, February 24 on suspicion of coercive or controlling behaviour in an intimate or family relationship. It is not clear what relationship he had to the complainant.
The suspect was questioned by detectives and released on bail pending further enquiries. The ECHO understands the officer is an experienced detective and has worked on cases involving murder and serious violence, robbery, and drugs conspiracies including EncroChat cases.
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Chief Superintendent Jenny Wilson, Head of Professional Standards at Merseyside Police, confirmed the arrest but said she could not comment further on the facts of the case due to the ongoing investigation.
However, she added: “Tackling violence and inappropriate treatment of women and providing support to those who have been victims of abuse, is a key priority for Merseyside Police.
“I would like to reassure the public that every single report of domestic abuse is taken extremely seriously and will be thoroughly investigated by our specialist domestic abuse teams. Those teams work alongside and with Independent Domestic Violence Advisors, professionals who ensure that all victims have access to the best possible support in place whilst investigations are ongoing and throughout any court process.
“Domestic abuse will not be tolerated, and we will not tolerate officers and staff working for us who do not uphold the highest levels of professionalism and integrity."
The offence of coercive and controlling behaviour was introduced in 2015 as part of the Serious Crime Act, and relates to an alleged pattern of behaviour or conduct that has a "serious effect" on the victim. The facts of this case are not yet publicly known, but the charges often involve isolating a person from their friends and family, violence or threats of violence, depriving the victim of their basic needs or monitoring the victim's movements or communications.
Policing nationally is under heavy scrutiny after scandals embroiling the Metropolitan Police, most notably the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, and the horrific crimes of serial rapist David Carrick, who targeted multiple victims while a firearms officer.
Chief Superintendent Wilson said: “We enforce the law and we need to uphold the law in everything we do. We always expect the highest professional standards of conduct and behaviour from officers and staff, and we have a dedicated programme of work to ensure everyone, inside and outside the organisation, feels represented, supported, and treated fairly with courtesy and respect.
“We are working hard to root out those in the minority who do not adhere to the standards and behaviours I and the community rightly expect from officers and staff.
“Our work includes more effective vetting, to encouraging everyone internally, and those who come into contact with our force, to call out and report any criminal, or inappropriate behaviour.
”I would like to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who is experiencing domestic abuse to have the courage to report it to us and we will support you in every way we can.”
Anyone with information on domestic abuse can contact @MerPolCC, 101 or @CrimestoppersUK, anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A spokeswoman for the force said if someone is in immediate danger they should dial 999 and speak to an operator but we also accept that openly speaking is not always an option. The Silent Solution is a service which means a vulnerable person can call 999 and alert us, by pressing ’55’ and then coughing or tapping the handset. This will indicate that help is needed and we will respond.
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