IPCC criticises Gwent Police over firearms officer’s affair

Gwent Police was wrong to reinstate a firearms officer who was sacked for having an affair while on duty, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said.

In a highly critical report, the IPCC found the force failed to properly handle the dismissal of PC Simon Jenkins after it was discovered he had sex with a woman while on duty in Caerphilly on April 10, 2010.

The matter was referred to the force by the woman’s husband on October 20 the same year and after an investigation and disciplinary meeting by the force’s professional standards department in December 2010, Gwent Police initially decided PC Jenkins should not be dismissed. It issued him with a final written warning, which stayed on his record for 18 months, while the other firearms officer who waited for PC Jenkins in the patrol car was also disciplined.

A report was sent to the complainant and the IPCC, but due to redactions made to the document neither were informed that PC Jenkins was an on-duty firearms officer, meaning the on-duty affair potentially jeopardised security as he was not necessarily in control of his weapon at the time.

Gwent Police also breached the complainant’s rights by completing the disciplinary process before he had the opportunity to appeal to the IPCC.

The complainant eventually appealed to the IPCC in January 2011, which upheld his complaint and found PC Jenkins’ actions to constitute gross misconduct, which then led to a disciplinary hearing in October 2011 where he was dismissed. Detective Superintendent Paul Griffiths, head of Gwent Police’s professional standards department at the time of the initial investigation, was also disciplined and removed from his role.

However, PC Jenkins was then reinstated on April 23, 2012, after he appealed to the Police Appeals Panel, which criticised the handling of the disciplinary case against him.

Tom Davies, IPCC commissioner for Wales, said Gwent Police’s “unacceptable” handling of the case failed to take into account that PC Jenkins’ role as a firearms officer presented additional safety concerns and its attempts to rush through the incident were against the interests of the complainant.

“Any officer having sex on duty is unacceptable behaviour that falls well below what is expected of all police officers,” he said.

“Those who carry firearms are rightly subject to the highest standards of training, procedures and discipline.

“The manner in which this complaint was originally handled by Gwent Police is unacceptable and their attempts to ‘fast-track’ the complaint and deal with it outside the formal regulations are not good enough.”

Mr Davies accepted the decision by the Police Appeals Panel to reinstate PC Jenkins due to disciplinary hearing procedural errors, and said he was satisfied Gwent Police had taken steps to ensure they would not be repeated, but questioned some of the panel’s decisions regarding whether or not the officer was guilty of gross misconduct.

“The finding of the Police Appeals Panel that the gun was never out of PC Jenkins’ direct and immediate control because it was in a holster, attached to his trousers, which were attached to him, albeit around his ankles, is surprising,” he said.

“I am also bemused by the panel’s conclusion that his conduct did not significantly downgrade the protection to the public because there was nothing to suggest he could not have been back in the police vehicle within a minute or two. These findings can only undermine public confidence in the credibility of the police discipline system.”

A Gwent Police spokesperson said: “Gwent Police notes and fully accepts the findings of the IPCC report which was critical of the force’s handling of a complaint against a serving officer.

“Our complaints handling processes have been reviewed and improved as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure we provide the best possible service to the public.”