Police officer suspended after Panorama programme

A Gloucestershire Constabulary police officer is suspended after appearing in a BBC Panorama programme

A Gloucestershire police officer has been suspended pending a misconduct investigation after appearing in a BBC Panorama investigation that exposed racism and misogyny at Charing Cross Police Station in London.

The Panorama investigation led to the capital's Metropolitan Police suspending eight officers and one staff member.

Gloucestershire Constabulary has confirmed one of the officers who appeared in the documentary had transferred to the county earlier this year.

A spokesperson from the force said it made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) on 11 September in relation to the officer.

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According to a letter seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service dated 1 October, the date the programme aired, the police officer was vetted in line with the College of Policing's Authorised Professional Practice and its Vetting Code of Practice.

Police chiefs said in the letter that as soon as they were made aware of the officer's alleged behaviour, they made a mandatory referral to the IOPC.

They said in the letter, ahead of the documentary's broadcast, that there had been no concerns raised about the officer's conduct since they transferred to the Gloucestershire force.

The letter said that in light of the IOPC investigation and based on the information they had ahead of the documentary being broadcast, they restricted the officer to non-public facing roles.

However, after viewing the Panorama footage, police chiefs decided to suspend the officer pending a conduct investigation.

Gloucestershire Constabulary has been asked who the officer is but it has not responded to this question.

However, a spokesperson from the force said the constabulary was committed to upholding the highest standards of professional behaviour throughout the service and would always act decisively whenever they learned of wrongdoing and misconduct.

"At the time the referral was made, the officer was placed on restricted duties, meaning they were in a non-public facing role and weren't involved in the evidential chain.

"However, once we were able to view the Panorama footage a decision was made to suspend the officer."

The spokesperson added: "Suspension is a neutral act. The decision to suspend has no bearing on any indication of guilt and should not be seen as such.

"All cases of proven misconduct risk undermining the public's faith in policing, and some of the behaviours in the episode of Panorama will worry, shock and upset our communities.

"We'd like to reassure them that we're committed to upholding the highest standards of professional behaviour throughout our service, as we recognise this is critical to maintaining their trust and confidence in us."