Three senior members of Gwent Police have been found to have committed behaviour amounting to gross misconduct.
Former Gwent Police chief superintendent Mark Warrender was found to have committed gross misconduct by "inappropriate touching" while he and two senior colleagues were found to have held an "inappropriate conversation" with a more junior member of staff as a police social event and “failed to challenge and report” the alleged improper behaviour of others in that conversation.
Warrender and colleagues chief superintendent Mark Budden, who held the role of acting assistant chief constable, and chief inspector Paul Staniforth faced allegations of gross misconduct which they each denied.
Read more: Police force issues apology to two women abused by superior officer
They faced a misconduct hearing at the headquarters of Avon and Somerset Police in Portishead, Bristol. It was held behind closed doors and in private with members of the public and press banned from attending. You can read about that in more detail here. The only record of the hearing available to the media and public is a brief summary posted afterwards.
Both Budden and Warrender have both been suspended on full pay since the summer of 2019 and it’s estimated they have received a combined gross total of at least £500,000 during this time. It is unknown whether Staniforth had been suspended.
The summary of the misconduct hearing stated that Mark Warrender retired from Gwent Police on September 2, 2022 just days before the report concluded, and all three were assessed by the panel and found to have committed gross misconduct.
In relation to Chief Superintendent Budden and Chief Inspector Staniforth, both officers have been dismissed without notice. In relation to former Chief Superintendent Warrender, the panel determined that he would have been dismissed without notice had he not ceased to be a police officer.
The officers’ names will be placed on the public Barred List held by the College of Policing pursuant to Part 4A of the Police Act 1996.
What have they been found to have done?
The following matters were found proved by the panel:
- Inappropriate conversation with a more junior member of police staff at a police social event (all three officers)
- Failing to challenge and report the improper behaviour of the others who were engaging in the conversation set out above (all three officers).
- Inappropriate touching (Former Chief Superintendent Warrender only).
- Failing to disclose a conflict of interest in relation to the inappropriate touching (Chief Superintendent Marc Budden only).
- Inappropriately disclosing information in relation to the misconduct and criminal investigation into the inapproproate touching to the victim (Chief Superintendent Marc Budden only).
- Providing a dishonest account about his conduct (Chief Superintendent Marc Budden only).
- Engaging in inappropriate behaviour whilst on duty (Chief Superintendent Marc Budden only)
WalesOnline and other news organisations had repeatedly challenged Gwent Police's desire for the proceeding to be held in private (where only a summary of the decisions made public). This was rejected.
One of the reasons for the appeal against the decision to keep the details of the case private is that the force has had a history of shortcomings when it comes to protecting people within its organisation.
A previous WalesOnline investigation found that Gwent Police had allowed a former officer to remain in post despite a growing evidence base that he was using his position to control and abuse female officers.
Deputy chief constable Amanda Blakeman said: “This outcome sends a clear message that these kinds of behaviours will not be tolerated within Gwent Police. The public expect high standards of integrity from us and where officers abuse their position of power they will be held to account.
“Over the past three years we’ve reflected on behaviours and changed our culture. We’ve made great strides in reinforcing the standards we expect from everyone in our service, regardless of rank.
“This event was a stark reminder to us that the highest standards of behaviour must be upheld by all, on or off duty. Every day the vast majority of our officers behave with professionalism and honesty when serving their local community and behaviour such as this lets us all down.
“Our focus has remained on the needs of the victim and ensuring that anyone, within the force or within our community, feels confident to come forward and report unacceptable behaviour to us and that they will be believed and supported.
“The chair’s decision to hold the hearing in private meant that individuals in this case felt able to participate in the process. Taking action against senior officers is a huge step for colleagues and we can only applaud the courage of the individuals who came forward and participated in this complex investigation.”
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