Gwent Police: Family of racism probe policemen no trust in force

Messages found on the phone of dead Gwent Police officer Ricky Jones have sparked an investigation into the force

The family of a former Gwent Police officer at the centre of an investigation into corruption, misogyny, racism and homophobia have said they have no trust in the police.

Ricky Jones appeared to be a respected officer with Gwent Police, before he retired in 2017.

He took his own life near the Prince of Wales Bridge in 2020.

But his widow and daughter said he was controlling and abusive at home.

Reports of offensive messages between Ricky Jones and both serving and retired officers emerged earlier this month.

Gwent Police asked Wiltshire's force to investigate, but Mr Jones' daughter has told BBC Wales the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), rather than another police force, should be investigating directly.

Gwent Police confirmed it had made three referrals to the IOPC.

The force also said Mr Jones was due to restart work for them on the day he took his own life. Chief Constable Pam Kelly said none of the allegations were available to them at the point he was re-employed.

Mr Jones' wife Sharon and daughter Emma, whose names have been changed, said although he never caused them physical harm, he made Sharon sleep on the sofa, and controlled every aspect of life in the house.

Emma said her mother protected her and her sisters.

"My mam normally received the brunt of it, if we did anything wrong it was my mam's fault, if anything went wrong in his life it was my mam's fault," she said.

• Gwent Police texts are appalling - Welsh secretary

• Welsh ministers might back wider police probe call

• Concern over Gwent Police probe's independence

"For a long time my mam stood between him and us.

"He would keep her sleep deprived, she didn't have a room on her own, my dad made her sleep on the sofa, he had the master bedroom so he could wake her up whenever he wanted, she still had to work, she still had to give him money every month," she said.

Ricky Jones told the pair they could never report the abuse because he had "sorted it" with other police officers.

The widow and daughter of former Gwent Police officer Ricky Jones have spoken out about the discriminatory WhatsApp conversations discovered after his suicide

While searching his mobile phone after his death for evidence of his domestic abuse, Emma came across the messages between her father and other current, and former police officers that horrified her.

"I was upset by what I found," she said.

"The way they speak about women is disgusting, the racist terminology that they use is disgusting, and there's no excuse for it.

"It comes out of nowhere, it's almost like it's their normal terminology, it's the way they speak.

"No one seems to be shocked by it, and some of the examples of corruption.

• Policeman appeals after gross misconduct dismissal

"That is what is really upsetting, no one is taking it seriously, they all cover up for each other, and they all think it's a big joke as well," she added.

The Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Pam Kelly said she was "horrified" by the details and said "we will continue to take swift and robust action".

Three referrals have been made by the force to the IOPC since 15 November.

An investigation into the allegations is being carried out by Wiltshire Police.

'Sex kits in the back of cars'

Emma said during the inquest into her father's death, her mother was misrepresented as being the abuser in the relationship.

That led to her examine his phone in detail.

"I had got myself in such a state - my mother was being portrayed as a villain, as an abuser, my father was being portrayed as a model citizen at the public inquest," she said.

"I looked through my father's mobile phone to find evidence to pass to the coroners to say 'look, something fishy is going on here, please look at it', and then I found everything else.

"People have asked me if I was shocked by what I found on that device and I wasn't, I was so upset that everything my dad said over the years that he could pull strings, he could 'sort it', he could stop my mother from reporting him - they were all true.

"The corruption in Gwent police is true, it's all real."

• Misogyny, corruption, racism probe at police force

Emma described some of the messages she found on the device.

"There's a lot of racist terminology, and pictures with annotations and jokes," she said.

"There are conversations about officers having sex kits in the back of their cars, there's jokes between officers where they share articles about women being harassed and women being assaulted.

"They joke and they say that they're pretty sure it's this officer that's done it, they always find that very funny.

"There's instances where officers who are accused of domestic abuse, misconduct, they're bragging and saying that Gwent Police offered them a way out through retirement or leaving the police early to avoid those allegations."

Wiltshire Police is carrying out the investigation into the allegations at Gwent Police

Emma said she no longer had any trust in the police, and was concerned it had taken so long for investigations to proceed.

Such was her lack of faith, she said she made a secure digital copy of the device before handing it over to investigators, and wants the IOPC to investigate directly.

"I've lost all confidence in UK policing, I don't think it's right it should be passed to another force," she said.

In a statement, Ms Kelly said: "The initial complaint raised by the Jones family did not include the conduct matters now emerging, and as new issues come to light we will continue to take swift and robust action.

"We continue to be horrified by the comments and material shared by retired officers and a small number of serving officers.

"These behaviours and attitudes have no place in Gwent Police, and we will continue our ongoing work with our colleagues to set out clear expectations around the standards that both we and the public expect.

"We will not tolerate behaviour that falls short of this, and will continue to take action against serving officers."

She added: "Ricky Jones had reapplied for a role as a roads policing analyst and was due to restart employment with us on Monday 6 January 2020, which was the day he took his own life.

"Any retired officer returning to the service, like any other applicant, is subject to a full and thorough vetting process.

"None of the details or allegations currently in the media were available to us at the point at which he was re-employed nor would these details have emerged during these vetting checks."

A statement from an IOPC spokesman said: "We received a referral from Gwent Police on 15 November concerning the family's complaint and received two conduct referrals, on 18 and 19 November, relating to several serving and former officers identified as being involved in the phone messages.

"We have now had further material from both Gwent Police and Wiltshire Police which we are assessing to determine what further action to take."

Wiltshire Police said: "Although this investigation is still underway, we can confirm that the devices being referred to in the national media were only provided to Wiltshire Police on 27 October 2022. We are now awaiting an update following the referral to the IOPC from Gwent Police on 15 November."