Police Watchdog to investigate Gwent Police Officers
Announcement follows alleged discovery of offensive messages on a dead officer's phone
Last updated 24th Nov 2022
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has launched an investigation into the conduct of several serving Gwent Police officers over allegations they shared offensive messages.
The IOPC said the decision follows careful assessment of referrals and accompanying information from Gwent Police received both this week and last week.
Details of messages on the phone of a police officer who died in 2020 were published by a national newspaper on 13 November, with publicised content of a racist, misogynistic and homophobic nature. Some alluded to potential corruption.
The IOPC has requested further information from Gwent Police and says it will make a decision on whether they fall within the IOPC’s jurisdiction.
The watchdog has also considered complaints from the family of former Police Sergeant Ricky Jones related to Gwent Police’s handling of its investigation into his death and officers’ contact with his relatives.
IOPC Director for Wales, Catrin Evans, said: “I recognise that many people will find the messages aired in the public domain, apparently shared among police officers, highly disturbing.
“After publication of the national newspaper article, we formally wrote to the Chief Constable of Gwent Police requesting they provide us with information to establish the chain of events and decisions taken in relation to the family’s complaints, and any conduct matters. We had not previously received a referral from the force on any of these matters.
“On the basis of our assessment of the conduct referrals received so far, we have decided that an independent investigation is essential to maintain public confidence. We will be investigating the alleged involvement of a number of serving Gwent Police officers in sharing offensive messages. We will keep the involvement of any further serving and former officers under review as more information comes to light. We will need to progress a full download of data from the phone of Mr Ricky Jones. I would ask for patience while we undertake our enquiries as swiftly and thoroughly as possible.”