Cleveland PCC Steve Turner: No evidence for IOPC theft probe

Steve Turner was elected as Cleveland's police and crime commissioner in May

The police watchdog will not be investigating three historical allegations made against Cleveland's police and crime commissioner (PCC).

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there was insufficient evidence for one allegation of theft while another had already been investigated by police.

It said there was no obligation for Steve Turner to declare the resulting police caution during his election.

Mr Turner had denied wrongdoing.

He was referred to the IOPC by Cleveland's police and crime panel after it emerged he had received a police caution in the 1990s after admitting handling stolen goods worth £15 while a manager at a supermarket, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

'Unbelievable stress'

The IOPC said it had "carefully assessed" the three referrals and found "the evidence did not indicate the appropriate thresholds had been met to warrant an IOPC investigation".

"Two referrals related to non-recent allegations of theft," a spokesperson said.

"We found insufficient evidence that a criminal offence may have taken place in one of those matters, while the other was investigated by police at the time and a police caution subsequently issued."

No offence had been committed by Mr Turner in not declaring the caution during the PCC election process as "there was no legal requirement" to do so, the IOPC said.

An investigation into a sexual assault allegation against Mr Turner, understood to date back to the 1980s, is still ongoing.

He said he was "confident the process will provide the right outcome and prove my innocence".

"All of these allegations have caused unbelievable amounts of stress and upset to me and my family as well as a significant amount of resources to carry out the investigations that have now been dismissed," he said.