As part of a criminal investigation into their conduct, an Isle of Wight police officer has been arrested and suspended from duty.
According to reports, the local officer based on the Isle of Wight was ordered to temporarily surrender their warrant card by the end of 2022 after serious allegations against them surfaced.
Four months later, it is now known that those allegations prompted a criminal investigation, which resulted in an arrest.
It has also been revealed that another officer was suspended from duty just weeks later following a separate investigation into their own conduct. They are not currently under criminal investigation, but they are still suspended.
Police departments across the country are looking into their officers’ actions in the aftermath of the Sarah Everard murder. The Metropolitan Police, for example, has launched an urgent review of all current investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct and domestic abuse against its officers and staff.
It was reported last week that former Hampshire officer John Apter, who was also the Chair of the Police Federation, will not face criminal charges over sexual assault allegations – but will face a misconduct hearing, despite retiring from the force last year.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has not issued a statement regarding the arrest or suspension of its serving officers.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has confirmed that they have been made aware of the situation, but have referred it back to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary while the criminal investigation is ongoing.
According to an IOPC spokesperson
“On November 4, 2022, we received a mandatory conduct referral from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary. This was assessed and determined that it was appropriate for the force to continue to investigate the matter and was referred back to the Professional Standards Department on 8th December”.
It has been confirmed that the IOPC has been informed of the second, separate misconduct allegations. According to the independent body, this matter, which is also a mandatory conduct referral, was referred to them in December and returned to Hampshire just six days later.
A mandatory conduct referral must be made when allegations involve serious assault, a serious sexual offence, serious corruption, certain types of criminal offence (known as relevant offences), or a criminal offence/behavior that is likely to result in misconduct proceedings and is aggravated by discriminatory behaviour based on a person’s race, gender, religion, or other status.
