Gwent Police: Nine officers investigated over offensive messages

Offensive messages were found on the phone of former Gwent Police officer Ricky Jones, who took his own life in 2020

Six serving and three former Gwent Police officers are being investigated for allegedly sharing offensive messages.

A police watchdog investigation was launched after offensive messages were found on the phone of retired police officer Ricky Jones, who took his own life in 2020.

The messages were discovered by Mr Jones' family.

Gwent Police said inappropriate behaviour had no place in the force.

Mr Jones's daughter Emma - not her real name - said her family was "saddened and disappointed" action was not taken until the press became involved.

She said the IOPC's update showed her father's character was reflected in the company he kept.

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"We believe that Gwent Police officers were biased against us as a family during their investigation for my father's inquest," she said.

"The update also highlights one of the many reasons why victims of police domestic abusers are unable to report their abusers to the police. These officers under investigation are the police."

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) inquiry was launched following a Sunday Times investigation into a phone owned by Mr Jones.

The newspaper said that racist images, pornographic videos and sensitive information about misconduct and corruption investigations were among the material exchanged between Mr Jones and former colleagues.

In a statement on Wednesday, the IOPC said three serving and two former officers had been served with misconduct notices in relation to the messages found on Mr Jones' phone.

A further four officers - one of whom has retired - were identified as being involved in a WhatsApp group where messages were shared. They are being investigated over claims that they failed to challenge or report inappropriate messages sent by colleagues.

The IOPC said a further two serving officers are under criminal investigation for allegedly unauthorised disclosure of police information to Mr Jones after he had left the force. They had been served with gross misconduct notices but are not being investigated over the phone messages.

Gwent Police said inappropriate behaviour had no place in the force

Misconduct notices advise officers that they are being investigated but charges will not necessarily follow, the watchdog said.

David Ford, the director of the IOPC, said the officers being investigated ranged from police constable to inspecting ranks.

He said the watchdog was also examining when Gwent Police became aware of Ricky Jones' family's concerns about the messages and what steps the force took to explore them.

"We will progress the investigation as swiftly as possible, but given the number of officers and the non-recent nature of the alleged conduct, inquiries will take some time," Mr Ford said.

A separate Wiltshire Police investigation is ongoing into a series of complaints from the family of Mr Jones, relating to Gwent Police's handling of its investigation into his death and officers' contact with his relatives.

Gwent Police's Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Williams said: "We are grateful to the IOPC for the pace at which they are conducting this investigation.

"It is important that these matters receive a full and thorough investigation in a timely way, and we will continue to work with both the IOPC and Wiltshire Police to support this.

"We are absolutely clear with both our colleagues and communities that inappropriate behaviour has no place in this force and we remain resolute in our commitment to root out such behaviours.

"I hope that the speed and scale of this investigation will give the public confidence around the commitment in policing to tackle unacceptable behaviours."