Three police officers have been suspended as a police watchdog investigation into offensive messages found on a dead police sergeant's phone is to be launched. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has announced its decision to independently investigate the conduct of several serving Gwent Police officers over allegations of sharing offensive messages.
The decision comes after messages on the phone of a deceased police sergeant were published earlier this month. The messages were shared with the Sunday Times by the family of Ricky Jones after they were discovered by his daughter following Mr Jones' death in January 2020. The messages publicised are of a "racist, misogynistic and homophobic nature and some alluded to potential corruption", the IOPC has said.
In an update by Gwent Police on Thursday, the force said it had suspended three officers in relation to allegations of misconduct, adding: "Our work to challenge any misconduct by serving officers continues."
According to the Sunday Times, messages found on the phone allegedly showed serving and retired officers discussing sexual harassment of junior female colleagues, making racist remarks, such as "The Great Muslim Bakeoff" when referring to Grenfell Tower, homophobic exchanges in which officers reportedly called each other "poofs" and "PC closet", and officers offering to illegally hide money. You can read more about the messages here.
The Sunday Times later reported on more messages from serving and former Gwent police officers. These reportedly include two retired officers exchanging leaked nude images of the US footballer Hope Solo and discussion of "sex pests" in the force. They are also reported to include the claim that a Gwent Police motorcyclist who stuck up a middle finger at a female driver in south Wales was allowed to investigate the complaint himself. You can read more on that here.
Previously, Gwent Police's Chief Constable Pam Kelly described the messages as 'abhorrent', adding: "Any officers identified by the investigation as having breached either professional standards or the criminal threshold will be held accountable. The content shared with us paints a picture of a toxic culture which does not represent the majority of our service."
READ MORE: 'Abhorrent' messages on a dead officer's phone paint picture of a 'toxic culture' in Gwent Police
The IOPC says it has requested further information from Gwent Police in relation to the alleged involvement of former officers in the sharing of messages, and that it will make a decision on whether they fall within the IOPC’s jurisdiction and, therefore, if it is legally permitted to include them in the investigation in due course.
The IOPC have also considered referrals from Gwent Police and Wiltshire Police setting out a series of complaints from the family of Mr Jones related to the force’s handling of its investigation into his death and officers’ contact with his relatives. The body has decided that these matters can continue to be investigated by Wiltshire Police. The family will have a right of review to the IOPC if they are not satisfied with the findings and outcome of that investigation, the watchdog has said. Aspects of the family’s complaints that relate to the offensive phone messages discovered will be incorporated into the IOPC’s independent conduct investigation.
As part of the investigation, the IOPC will consider whether conduct allegations concerning the phone messages should have been referred to the body earlier. IOPC Director for Wales, Catrin Evans, said: "I recognise that many people will find the messages aired in the public domain, apparently shared among police officers, highly disturbing.
“After publication of the national newspaper article, we formally wrote to the Chief Constable of Gwent Police requesting they provide us with information to establish the chain of events and decisions taken in relation to the family’s complaints, and any conduct matters. We had not previously received a referral from the force on any of these matters.
“On the basis of our assessment of the conduct referrals received so far, we have decided that an independent investigation is essential to maintain public confidence. We will be investigating the alleged involvement of a number of serving Gwent Police officers in sharing offensive messages.
"We will keep the involvement of any further serving and former officers under review as more information comes to light. We will need to progress a full download of data from the phone of Mr Ricky Jones. I would ask for patience while we undertake our enquiries as swiftly and thoroughly as possible.”
The IOPC received a referral from Gwent Police on November 15 concerning the family’s complaint and received three conduct referrals, on November 18, 19, and 23, relating to several serving and former officers identified as being involved in the phone messages.
In a statement, Gwent Police said: "The IOPC has today confirmed its role in investigating the conduct of serving officers following referrals from Gwent Police. We are committed to working with them to ensure a full and transparent process to tackle any unacceptable behaviour by officers.
"We have today (Thursday 24 November) suspended three officers in relation to allegations of misconduct. Following allegations published in The Sunday Times on Sunday 13 and 20 November we have worked to identify the officers involved and to take appropriate action. Our work to challenge any misconduct by serving officers continues."
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