I was victimised after I tried to root out police corruption, claims senior officer

Feb 6 2008 by Martin Shipton, Western Mail

A SENIOR police officer, who was suspended from duty for three years for reasons now considered unlikely to lead to significant punishment, claims he was victimised for setting up a unit aimed at rooting out corruption and malpractice within South Wales Police.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Christopher believes some officers were unhappy about the new unit. He says his health was badly affected by his ordeal and that a relative was asked to spy on him and provide the force with detailed personal and financial information about him. The relative refused to do so.

In conjunction with another former member of the anti-corruption unit, Mr Christopher, who retired on ill-health grounds last month, is now seeking a full investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission into the way he has been treated.

Last night South Wales Police issued a statement rejecting Mr Christopher’s allegations “in the strongest possible terms”.

Mr Christopher, 52, who was a serving police officer for more than 29 years, told the Western Mail, “Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary produced a paper that was circulated to all forces, saying they should set up pro-active anti-corruption units that would be responsible for rooting out bad police officers. The vast majority of police officers have integrity, but a small percentage do not.

“I was tasked by Assistant Chief Constable Tony Rogers to research the setting up of such a unit and then I was given responsibility for establishing it. I headed it up for a year before becoming head of the force intelligence bureau, gathering intelligence on criminals, and then later head of CID for Rhondda Cynon Taf. Previously I had worked at the National Crime Faculty at Bramshill, Hampshire, and on national working parties looking at police policy.

“Our role in the professional standards pro-active unit, as it was called, was to collect intelligence and look at it in a robust manner to see if there was the need for further inquiries. Through myself, we set up a very transparent and ethical set of procedures to make sure that intelligence could be acquired but that officers were protected from a witch hunt.

“The sort of issues we were looking at ranged from criminal acts, including corruption, to breaches of the disciplinary code. We were looking at a very small percentage of officers.

“It was very hard to set the unit up – there was a lot of bad feeling. Some officers regarded us as scabs. Even quite senior officers did not see the reason for the unit. It was very difficult to recruit officers to work in it. We had to be sure they had the ability to do the kind of work we were doing, and that they were thoroughly ethical themselves. Some officers simply didn’t want to work in it.

“My research showed there had to be assurances from South Wales Police that when officers moved on from the unit, they would be put into roles where they could not be exposed to recriminations from officers who held a grudge because they may have come under investigation. I do not believe the organisation has lived up to the assurances that were given at the time. Some members of the unit have had their lives ruined.

“In 2002, after I had left the anti-corruption unit and was heading the force intelligence bureau, I was found guilty under the ‘politeness and tolerance’ regulations after someone took umbrage at an allegedly inappropriate conversation between a female officer and myself concerning the dress of another member of staff.

“It was a trivial incident, but it was magnified out of all proportion. I pleaded guilty only because if I didn’t I would have risked being demoted with a significant loss of pay. I wasn’t happy at the way the matter was handled. More importantly, for certain senior officers, it created an unjustified disciplinary footprint for future reference, but, sadly, another female officer had to be disciplined in the process.

“On March 31, 2004, by which time I was head of CID at Ponty- pridd, my wife Babette and I were contacted by a relative, who said they had been approached by South Wales Police to infiltrate my family and get information which could discredit me. What they wanted was information about my finances, my bank accounts, my property and my associations. The relative had meetings with three officers in three different hotels, but would not do what they wanted.

“In my view, this was outrageous. I was horrified. They had absolutely no justification for doing what they did. I wondered what was the extent of the covert action being taken against me. Had they got access to my bank accounts? Were they tapping my phone? Were they following me and bugging our house?

“I wondered how many other people had been approached. What did they think I had done? I had never committed any criminal act to justify their action.

“Since I found out about this, I have never had the same view of South Wales Police – I was totally demoralised. My passion for the job had been extinguished by certain senior officers with a grudge against me.

“I was very upset and went to see the then Deputy Chief Constable, Paul Wood. He instigated an investigation conducted by the head of CID. The response I had at the end of the investigation was that I was not currently under investigation.

“After I went to see him, I was, however, put on gardening leave until the outcome, which took two or three weeks.

“I returned to work as head of CID at Pontypridd. But I now felt I was constantly under the microscope, either overtly or covertly. I would drive round roundabouts a few times to see whether I was being followed, and I limited what I said in phone calls because I may have been bugged.

“I wasn’t satisfied with the response I got from South Wales Police, so I decided to take my concerns to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. I wanted to know exactly what had gone on in terms of my being kept under surveillance, and how it was justified. Because serving police officers cannot complain to the IPCC, the complaint was made by Babette, who was able quite rightly to say that the situation was harming our family life.

“The IPCC investigation into Babette’s complaint took several months. The result was that no disciplinary action was to be taken against anyone. Very unusually, however, no information was disclosed beyond that because of what is known as the harm test. Under the Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2004, the IPCC can refuse to disclose information if there is a real risk of the disclosure of that information causing an adverse effect and that the adverse effect would be significant. We understand this was the first time the IPCC had refused to release information by making use of that clause.

“Meanwhile, I was notified on August 12, 2004, that I was to face a disciplinary investigation following events at Penygraig Rugby Club, where a number of players were suspended by the WRU for failing to take a drugs test. In fact, I was not the senior investigating officer in the case, and was only in charge of intelligence gathering. All decisions regarding the conduct of the case had been taken by the SIO in conjunction with the senior command team in Taf division, yet I was the only officer to be investigated. I was cleared of any wrongdoing.

“On November 22, 2004, the professional standards department received a complaint from a female officer who alleged I had bullied her. This was a matter I believe should have been resolved informally at the division, but the professional standards department decided to conduct an investigation themselves.

“In my opinion, the investigation was disproportionate and discriminatory. The complaint was in my view unwarranted and had been made by someone I had told to pull their socks up in terms of their work.

“Around 90 statements were taken over a two-month period, with the vast majority being neutral, saying nothing or in my defence. I was asked by the divisional commander not to interfere in the inquiry, and I didn’t do so. On November 30 he called me in and suggested I take on another job as the complainant had alleged I had interfered in the investigation – effectively I was being offered a sideways move.

“By that time I was totally disillusioned with the way my case was being conducted. I had no confidence in the integrity of the force and it seemed to me that I was being treated unfairly by senior officers.

“On December 3, 2004, I was suspended from duty on full pay, without being given any reason. For more than three years I was paid my full salary, yet throughout the whole period I was not interviewed once and there were no disciplinary hearings.

“Unbeknown, and certainly unsolicited, to me, another former member of the internal anti-corruption unit, DC Frank Kitt, had raised concerns relating to my treatment with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary when they inspected South Wales Police in November 2005. After he retired in early 2007 he told me he had raised these issues, but that nothing had been done.

“I then contacted HMIC and asked why they had done nothing. They admitted they had seen Frank, but said they advised him to raise issues with the IPCC, which he – or rather his wife – did. At that time the IPCC assumed the matters were being looked at by HMIC.

“My wife Babette complained to the IPCC, but they did not want to investigate any of the allegations initially.

“Their view was that many of the people involved had left South Wales Police – one had actually joined the IPCC – that they did not want to look into matters that had been raised before and that were covered by the harm test, and that they had no remit to investigate HMIC.

“They said my best option was to lodge a complaint with South Wales Police. It was at that stage I decided I had no option but to go to Adam Price MP, with whom Frank Kitt was already in touch. Mr Price has held a meeting with the chief executive of the IPCC, who asked for us to send an account of what we are alleging. We have done that and are now waiting for her to consider our submission.

“My view is that an organisation like the IPCC, which was established to look at police wrongdoing, should have a responsibility to investigate allegations of serious wrongdoing to ensure public confidence.

“I have a bad injury to my back, and the stress of what I have endured in recent years has affected me badly, to such an extent that I recently suffered a heart attack. I have been diagnosed with ‘adjustment disorder’. To enable me to retire on the grounds of ill-health, I needed to be examined by a selected medical practitioner. The doctor appointed by South Wales Police who examined me said I was fit to face disciplinary action. I was very angry that he said that. I had met him specifically to be assessed for ill- health retirement. Other officers will suffer unless this is addressed. Babette has complained to the police about the way the health unit has handled my case.

“On December 4, 2007, Deputy Chief Constable Peter Vaughan decided I should be allowed to retire on ill-health grounds. In making his decision, he wrote that any sanctions in respect of what I was suspended for for three years would be ‘unlikely to have any real impact on his work or financial position’. In other words, it was likely I would have received no serious penalty and no demotion if a disciplinary case had been pursued against me.

“In my view the allegations were comparatively trivial for the Professional Standards Department to investigate compared to certain more serious matters that have been referred for investigation at a divisional level.

“I was suspended for three years and my health has been seriously affected for no good reason. I appreciate DCC Vaughan objectively assessing the actual reality of the situation and adopting a proportionate approach to resolve the matter – something that had not occurred previously.

“The reason I have spoken to the Western Mail is not because I want to air my grievances in public – I’m not comfortable about doing that. But I do think this should be in the public domain to show that what occurs within South Wales Police is not necessarily in the interests of the force or the public. There is a need, I believe, for much more accountability and transparency. The material I have sent to the IPCC contains the names of several serving and retired officers and staff.

“What happened robbed me of the opportunity to continue doing the job I loved. We have now moved to West Wales to get away from South Wales Police, but we still fear reprisals or unjustified intrusion of our privacy.”

Mr Christopher formally retired from the force on January 20.

Mr Christopher’s relative, who preferred not to be named, confirmed they had been asked by officers from South Wales Police to seek out personal and financial information about Mr and Mrs Christopher.

“I had three meetings with them in hotels on the outskirts of Cardiff,” the relative said. “They asked me to tell things about them that I didn’t know. They were encouraging me to go and see them around Christmas time, to find out how many houses they owned and where they got their money from, I wasn’t prepared to do that.”

Assistant Chief Constable David Morris said in response to Mr Christopher’s allegations, “South Wales Police refutes the allegations made by Mr Christopher in the strongest possible terms.

“This individual was deemed unfit to be a police officer by medical professionals and so was retired on ill health grounds after 29 years’ service due to a back injury; a decision which also took account of Mr Christopher’s length of service.

“It is vitally important to highlight that the individual was assessed as fit for interview in relation to a misconduct inquiry. South Wales Police afforded every opportunity to Mr Christopher to be interviewed in relation to the allegations, which included an offer for him to provide a written response, which he failed to do.

“It is inaccurate to refer to the complaint as trivial. South Wales Police was investigating allegations of bullying, harassment and sexist behaviour which, if proved, would have amounted to gross misconduct. In addition, the victims and complainants in this case did not view the allegations they made as trivial.

“It must be made clear that the investigation into Mr Christopher would in fact still be continuing if he had not been retired on medical grounds. The decision to allow the individual to retire was entirely separate to the investigation into his conduct. In fact, under the force’s current leadership, this officer would NOT have been put in charge of the Pro-active Integrity Unit.

“The decision to allow Mr Christopher to retire was proportionate as he had completed 29 years of police service. Any disciplinary sanction which may have been imposed had proceedings continued would have had little or no effect given he was so close to retiring on a full police pension.”

Independent Police Complaints Commission Commissioner for Wales Tom Davies last night issued a statement which said, “The IPCC independently investigated complaints against South Wales Police made by Mrs Babette Christopher in 2004. This was a vigorous investigation and found there was absolutely no substance to the complaints made. The IPCC national head of investigations and myself met with Mrs Christopher and her husband, Steven, and explained the outcome of the investigation.

“At the end of its investigations the IPCC always applies a harm test to the type of information it discloses. In concluding the investigation into Mrs Christopher’s complaints the IPCC applied the harm test. It was of course open to Mrs Christopher to seek judicial review of this decision.

“The IPCC can confirm that it has passed a further complaint from Mrs Christopher to the SWP Police Authority, and to the force’s professional standards department. These complaints are currently being processed and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

Child abuse cover-up allegations over top policeman who quit

Child abuse cover-up allegations over top policeman who quit
Times - David Sanderson
The chief constable who resigned amid allegations of financial wrongdoing and misuse of police equipment was also being investigated in connection with his force’s dismissal of child abuse claims against a judge, The Times can disclose.
Terence Grange, who resigned from the Dyfed-Powys Police on Monday, had been accused by the judge’s ex-wife of allowing his professional relationship with the judge to influence the force’s treatment of the claims.
He left his post days after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched separate investigations into potentially criminal financial irregularities and alleged misuse of a work computer.
Members of the Dyfed-Powys Police Authority had refused to offer him their continuing support.
The Times can reveal that in August the IPCC had ordered the police authority to investigate the links between Mr Grange and the judge accused of inappropriate behaviour towards children. It follows claims made by the judge’s ex-wife that the judge had given a child a sexually transmitted disease, viewed child pornography websites and misused transcripts from child abuse cases that he had presided over.
Documents sent to the IPCC said the force had concluded that there was insufficent evidence to interview the judge and decided not to analyse his computer. The force then refused to accept a further complaint from the ex-wife that the relationship between the judge and officer, who had worked together on criminal justice issues, had biased its approach. But the IPCC ruled in August that this complaint should have been investigated.
The judge, who cannot be identified, said previously: “It is not a subject I would wish to comment upon in any circumstances.”
Mr Grange, 58, did not respond to a request by The Times’s for his reaction to the bias claims. He has not spoken publicly about the IPCC investigation.
The Dyfed-Powys Police Authority did not comment on whether this investigation into Mr Grange had been dropped, or whether the initial child abuse claims made against the judge would be reinvestigated.
The IPCC is still investigating Mr Grange over potentially criminal alleged financial wrongdoings. It is now powerless to investigate the alleged misuse of a work computer because Mr Grange is no longer a serving officer.
On Tuesday the police authority revealed that Mr Grange had been accused of sending “private e-mails concerning a personal relationship”.
The authority held an emergency meeting behind closed doors on Thursday to discuss Mr Grange’s retirement. It is under fire from critics who claim that the police chief has been “let off the hook” by being allowed to leave.
Helen Mary Jones, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales West, said yesterday that many serving officers felt that no other force member would have been allowed to walk away from such allegations. In response, the authority released a statement after Thursday’s meeting defending its actions.
It said: “The emergency committee considered that there were issues in front of them that raised questions about Mr Grange’s judgment and it was important to maintain confidence within the authority, force and our communities. It therefore decided that it was in the public interest that his offer to retire should be accepted with immediate effect.”
Mr Grange was spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers on child protection issues and caused controversy last year when he asked whether it was appropriate for young men who had sex with 15-year-old girls to be described as paedophiles.
He became Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police in 2000, where he has presided over improvements in police performance and a reduction in crime. This year he was given a two-year extension to his contract.
When Mr Grange announced his retirement, Tony McNulty, the Home Office Minister, said that he should be congratulated for having “made a significant contribution to policing in Wales”.
The IPCC said: “Once he left the police force we no longer had any power to investigate him for computer misuse. But the allegations of financial irregularities are different because, potentially, they could be criminal.”
Mr Grange has been replaced by Acting Deputy Chief Constable Andy Edwards.

Life in uniform
— Joined the Army at 15, serving with the Parachute Regiment
— Joined the Metropolitan Police in 1971 and came third out of 1,100 candidates in his promotion exams
— He has a masters degree in public services
— Chosen for accelerated training on special course for sergeants at the Police Staff College, Bramshill
— In 1988 he transferred to Avon and Somerset Constabulary as a superintendent
— In 1994 he was made Assistant Chief Constable
— On March 17, 2000, he was appointed Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police
— He is married with three adult daughters

IPCC questions Dyfed-Powys' Terry Grange

IPCC questions for police inquiry
The force investigated claims against a friend of former chief Terry Grange
Dyfed-Powys Police is to be examined over claims it failed to properly look at allegations against a friend of former chief constable Terry Grange.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will study how claims of child pornography and mortgage fraud against a senior judge were handled.
The judge's ex-wife took the High Court action after the IPCC dismissed her appeal over the force's investigation.
Mr Grange retired suddenly last November over an unrelated matter.
In 2006, the judge's then wife - who like him cannot be named for legal reasons - claimed that he had sexually abused young girls, looked at child pornography, had beaten her up and lied on a mortgage application.
Named only as X in the High Court on Thursday, she also said the judge had brought home transcripts of sex trials for his sexual gratification.
Time limit
The hearing was told her complaints were investigated by Dyfed-Powys Police, which told the Crown Prosecution Service there was insufficient evidence to support a prosecution.
In July 2007, the force dismissed X's complaints that its officers had failed to properly investigate her allegations, including that there was an "appearance of bias" because the judge was friendly with the force's then chief constable, Mr Grange.
The court heard X appealed against those decisions to the IPCC, and it ruled Dyfed-Powys Police should have registered the complaint about the "appearance of bias".
However, the hearing was told the IPCC dismissed X's appeal about the investigation, ruling that it had been received late in August, outside the strict 28-day time limit which governs such matters.
It was X's case that she posted her appeal in good time, but it was held up in the post.
Granting X permission to seek judicial review of the IPCC's decision, Mr Justice Mitting said the IPCC appeared to have accepted her assertion she had posted the letter on 20 August last year, even though it was stamped as being received only on 28 August.
Mr Justice Mitting said there was no prospect the IPCC would criticise the police decisions not to prosecute for child abuse and domestic violence.
Lawyers
But he added the police's failure to seize the judge's computer, and the fact X had given officers the name of his mortgage company, could possibly lead to a legitimate complaint that the investigations into mortgage fraud and child pornography were not conducted adequately.
The judge involved in the case has always protested his innocence, and said his ex-wife was trying to get back at him over their divorce, the hearing was told.
Mr Justice Mitting said: "I don't regard the possible opening of this appeal as something which could not give rise to any to legitimate relief to X or, given the nature of her allegations, the public."
The IPCC barrister told the court immediately after the judgment that it would treat X's appeal as having been lodged within time, and would consider it it.
Mr Grange retired suddenly after his former lover made misconduct allegations against him two months after their affair finished.
Last month, the IPCC upheld claims he had misused e-mails and a credit card.
The CPS said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him for misconduct in public office.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/7439020.stm