Eight Hampshire Police officers to face misconduct hearings after ‘racism’ inquiry

Eight Hampshire Police officers will face gross misconduct hearings after they were caught allegedly making racist and homophobic comments, Sky News can reveal.

It follows a 17-month investigation into claims by a force employee that officers within its serious and organised crime unit had used “inappropriate and prejudiced” language and behaviour.

Covert recording devices at the police investigation centre in Basingstoke allegedly caught officers making racist and homophobic remarks.

Hampshire Police told Sky News on Friday that eight officers and one member of police staff were found to have “a case to answer for gross misconduct”, while another officer has resigned over the case.

The force said the “complex and lengthy” investigation had involved 17 police officers and four members of police staff and was supervised by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The inquiry was launched in February 2018 but it was only made public by Hampshire Police 12 months later when the force revealed five members of staff had been suspended.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, Hampshire Police said:

• Eight officers and one member of police staff have a case to answer for gross misconduct and will be required to attend a misconduct hearing
• Five police officers and two members of police staff had a case to answer for misconduct and received “management action”
• One police officer who would have received “management action” for misconduct has resigned
• Three police officers and one member of police staff had no case to answer for misconduct. Three of those received management action, while the other faced no further action

Hampshire Police said it would only reveal the names of the officers facing misconduct hearings when details of the hearings are published on the force’s website at a later date.

The force was accused earlier this year of a “scandalous” lack of transparency over the investigation after it refused to divulge details of the complaints facing the police staff.

Following a freedom of information request by Sky News, Hampshire Police said it did not hold the information “in a retrievable format” and it would cost too much to provide it.

At the time, anti-racism charity The Monitoring Group criticised the force and pointed to the damning inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, which stressed the need for police to be more open about racism allegations.

Mr Lawrence, 18, was murdered by a gang of racists in Eltham, southeast London, in 1993 and the initial investigation into his death was dogged by incompetence, racism and alleged corruption.

Suresh Grover, director of The Monitoring Group, told Sky News: “It is scandalous that police cannot be more transparent about the language that has been used.

“The fact that it involves an investigation of a large group of staff members exposes the possibility of an existing office culture of prejudice, similar to the canteen culture that existed in police forces in the 1970s.”

Former cabinet minister Maria Miller, who is the MP for Basingstoke, also urged Hampshire Police “to be transparent in their handling of these serious allegations”.

The nine police staff facing misconduct hearings will either face dismissal without notice; dismissal with notice; final written warning; written warning; management advice; or no case to answer.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, Hampshire’s police and crime commissioner Michael Lane said he had challenged the force’s chief constable to “shine light into every dark corner of the organisation to ensure the highest standards are being met”.

He added: “It is important that this complex and thorough investigation has now been concluded and those that have been found to have a case to answer will be required to do so at a formal hearing.

(c) Sky News 2019: Eight Hampshire Police officers to face misconduct hearings after ‘racism’ inquiry