A police officer based with Greater Manchester Police who endured a seven-year investigation by the IOPC (and IPCC) had a misconduct hearing against him dismissed ‘within an hour’ of it starting.
It has been reported that the complainants refused to attend the hearing.
The IOPC or GMP has released no details regarding the nature of the investigation, but GMP Federation took to their Facebook page to share their frustration with the process.
Speaking about the outcome, Stu Berry, Chair of the Greater Manchester Police Federation, said:
‘This is yet another example that highlights failings within the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
‘The medical report from the IOPC’s expert was subject to insufficient review or scrutiny by the IOPC investigators, and, if it had been, it is unlikely that the matter would have been advanced by GMP.
‘This added to the prejudice caused by the delay in bringing the case.
Stu added: ‘After seven years and multiple repeated allegations, the complainants refused to attend.
‘To put this into perspective, the officer has been under investigation for a third of his 24-year career at great personal cost to him and the public purse.
‘His youngest child – aged six – wasn’t born when the investigation began.
‘His personal life and career have suffered a colossal detriment and I hope he can begin the healing process.
‘Unfortunately, the IOPC remains a significant risk to officer welfare and the Government must act now to reform the IOPC and increase the efficacy and timelines of their investigations.’
Phill Matthews, Conduct & Performance Lead for the Police Federation of England & Wales, said:
‘[This is] another long-running case where better and earlier disclosure could have prevented this from happening.
‘We need the best trained, independent investigators with decision-makers who are rational, not risk-averse.
‘This type of case is exactly why we need our Time Limits campaign to succeed.
‘We need earlier independent legal scrutiny of extended cases now!
‘We should not have to ‘wait and see’.
Emergency Services News did reach out to GMP Federation for more information but did not receive a response.
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