Police boss worked amid sexual misconduct claims

Concerns have been raised about how Gwent Police dealt with the complaint against a senior manager

A senior police manager accused of sending scores of sexually suggestive texts to a female colleague was allowed to stay in his job for nine months.

He was only suspended in May 2023 after another colleague complained about him.

The first complainant came forward after she was "shocked" to see the manager lead a training session on staff conduct following the murder of Sarah Everard.

Gwent Police's Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Williams said: "We have made our expectations clear to both officers and staff that we will not tolerate poor behaviour."

BBC Wales has been told a third person has also complained and the manager - who is a civilian member of staff rather than a police officer - now faces a gross misconduct hearing.

A former Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) director, who worked on some of the Met Police’s most high-profile recent misconduct cases, has questioned how the first complaint was handled.

Gwent Police has found itself under intense scrutiny in recent years over complaints about officers’ conduct and, in March 2024, the IOPC announced that two serving officers and one former officer would face gross misconduct hearings.

The manager, who was involved in hiring the woman and was senior to her, but not her direct line manager, allegedly sent sexual texts over several months after her appointment in 2010.

In the messages, seen by the BBC, he talks about her “sexy” body and asks for sex, despite the woman telling him she was in a relationship and asking him to stop.

It is understood the woman was compelled to come forward with her complaint after the manager led a presentation addressing inappropriate workplace messaging.

This followed the murder of Miss Everard by Met Police officer Wayne Couzens.

It was one of a series of seminars held by the force which, like others, found itself trying to deal with an erosion of trust in policing caused by the murder.

In a letter to Chief Constable Pam Kelly, the woman explained her “shock and horror” that this manager was leading the talk and she suffered an anxiety attack as a result.

"I was so upset that I spoke up and said the talk 'smacked of double standards'," she wrote.

Complaint 'not taken seriously enough'

In August 2022 the woman decided to make a complaint against the manager.

BBC Wales has been told she was informed that the complaint was initially assessed as gross misconduct, but the manager was not suspended.

Four months later, after an investigation, it was formally assessed as misconduct - a less serious grading which does not attract suspension.

It is understood the complainant expressed her concern to investigators about this, suggesting it was not being taken seriously enough.

Gwent Police's own disciplinary policy for police staff, last updated in 2017, gives sexual misconduct at work as an example of gross misconduct, which can result in dismissal if proven.

In February 2023, Ms Kelly wrote to the complainant saying the investigation was in its final stages and nearly all inquiries "are complete".

But in May 2023, a second female colleague came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, leading to the initial complaint being reassessed as gross misconduct and the manager being suspended on full pay.

BBC Wales has been told a third allegation of sexual misconduct was then made against the manager in late 2023.

Former IOPC director Sal Naseem believes the complaint should have been assessed as gross misconduct

Sal Naseem, who during his time as the IOPC’s director for London led misconduct cases against people including Couzens, has been shown some of the messages.

He believed the assessment of the complaint should always have been gross misconduct.

"When you look at the kind of pattern of behaviour, the escalation of behaviour, it’s a man harassing a woman," said Mr Naseem.

"Albeit by text message or WhatsApp, it's still that pattern of escalating behaviour, of sexual harassment."

Mr Naseem said anyone facing a gross misconduct charge would usually be suspended pending an investigation – although forces have discretion on this.

He said, in the context of the messages constituting gross misconduct in his view, it did not make sense that the manager was not suspended immediately.

Gwent Police Chief Constable Pam Kelly, who is retiring this year, said her time in charge of the force had been "challenging"

Now, 19 months on from the initial complaint, BBC Wales has been told no misconduct hearing has taken place and the manager is still suspended on full pay.

Mr Naseem questioned the length of time the process had taken for the first complainant and stressed the importance of keeping complainants and victims informed of progress.

"As I understand it, the force haven't given that level of transparency or any form of update. So it's very hard to say why it's taken so long," he said.

“We have to remember, there's a victim at the heart of this as well and they need to [be able to] trust the process."

Gwent Police said witnesses had been "updated regularly throughout the process to ensure they are fully supported".

If police officers are dismissed or resign before a gross misconduct hearing, their names can be added to the public Police Barred List, which bans them working for other police forces.

But police staff who are dismissed can only be added to a private barred list.

Mr Naseem said Gwent Police needed to be fully transparent, given the recent concerns about the culture within the force.

He added: "I suppose it is really incumbent on the senior leaders in this force to grip that really strongly and to demonstrate what they're doing in respect of that."

Gwent Police confirmed a member of police staff was being investigated by its professional standards department.

Ms Williams added: "We have put a significant amount of work into making sure colleagues understand and feel able to report any concerns, challenge behaviour and receive support.

"We’ve given a public commitment that we will pursue, investigate and, where appropriate, discipline anyone whose behaviour lets down every dedicated and hardworking member of Gwent Police and our community."

The IOPC said it received a referral in 2023 and, after consideration, decided there was no requirement for it to independently investigate and "the matter was passed back to Gwent Police".