26th August 2015

SOUTH SOMERSET: Chief Constable asked to resign following misconduct charges

Police chief has ‘lost confidence of local people, officers and staff’

by Francesca Evans

SOMERSET and Avon Chief Constable Nick Gargan has been ordered to resign after being found guilty of eight counts of misconduct.

Mr Gargan was suspended from the force in May 2014 after being accused of gross misconduct involving inappropriate advances towards female colleagues, which he was cleared of by a panel in July.

However, the inquiry panel found him guilty of eight other counts of misconduct, including sharing private police information and having intimate images on his police-issued mobile phone.

Although his suspension from the force was lifted after the inquiry, Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens, who personally appointed Mr Gargan as Chief Constable in 2013, has now demanded that he leave his £175,000 a year post. Three former Chief Constables of Avon and Somerset Constabulary have also called for his resignation and a petition saying he should leave the post has been signed by more than 1,200 people.

Following Mr Gargan’s hearing with Ms Mountstevens last week, a report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) on the misconduct charges brought against the Chief Constable was made public.

The report described how Mr Gargan faced a total of 16 charges, three of which were later withdrawn. He was found guilty of seven counts of forwarding emails containing police business to non-police email addresses - one of which included sending details of a new job to a woman he said he hoped would apply.

The report stated: “Whilst it is commendable that the Chief Constable was taking an interest in bringing high calibre people into the organisation, he provided her with material which would have given her a real, or perceived advantage had she applied for the post. At the same time Chief Constable Gargan was inviting her out for social drinks.”

In his defence, Mr Gargan argued that he was not intending to sit on the recruitment panel so he did not unfairly influence it.

He was also found guilty of one count of inappropriate use of his police-issued iPhone and iPad, which contained four images described as “personal intimate photographs”. The IPCC report said that if the images had fallen into the wrong hands “the reputational damage would have been significant”, and described this as “another example of Chief Constable Gargan’s blurring of professional and personal boundaries and risking exposure of his personal life”.

Mr Gargan was not found guilty of any charges of alleged inappropriate behaviour towards women, but the report described how rumours had circulated about his relationship with one colleague in particular, who he had described in emails and text messages as “beautiful” and said she was “rocking a Daisy Duke look yesterday” – referring to a character in the TV series and film “Dukes of Hazard”.

It stated: “There was evidence which suggested that he had actively sought relationships within the workplace and one of the women concerned, whilst expressing a positive view of her Chief Constable, described the difficulties it caused her at work. Whilst finding that misconduct was not proved the panel’s report stated that in his dealing with the woman concerned, Chief Constable Gargan had shown flawed judgement.”

The report added: “In his own defence, Chief Constable Gargan made much of his right to have a private life, which is both proper and understandable. However, the behaviour and actions exposed in this investigation demonstrate that he put his own privacy in jeopardy. He allowed the boundary between his professional and personal life to become blurred.”

Speaking on her decision to ask Mr Gargan to resign, Ms Mountstevens said: “Chief Constable Nick Gargan has let down the colleagues he led and the communities he was there to protect. He abused his position by forwarding confidential emails, interfering with a proper recruitment process and sending, receiving and storing intimate images on his police issue phone.

“As the Chief Constable, Nick Gargan should have led by example and demonstrated the highest levels of integrity, values and professional behaviour. Instead he has shown flawed judgement and been found guilty of eight counts of misconduct including two of discreditable conduct.

“From what I have seen and heard, he has lost the confidence of local people, police officers and staff. Over the last six weeks since the panel’s findings concerns have been raised to me by the Chief Officer Group, Superintendents Association, Police Federation and Unison about Nick Gargan continuing to lead Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

“I believe that there is now a detrimental impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of him leading Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which is why I have today initiated the process to require him to resign. This is a separate process from the misconduct procedure and I will be writing to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Thomas Winsor to seek his views.”

In their report to Ms Mountstevens the independent misconduct panel raised concerns about the IPCC’s handling of the investigation.

Sue Mountstevens added: “The main issue was the disclosure of relevant materials and statements from IPCC investigators including unused material, to the defence. The legal advice was unequivocal that the defence are entitled in law to un-redacted copies of relevant material. I fully understood the IPCC’s reluctance to disclose identities and some of the associated information. I was equally concerned with the welfare of witnesses throughout this process.

“I believe the IPCC acted with good intentions to protect and support witnesses and not betray the confidence of those that did come forward, but clearly the way they managed the process in this case has caused concern, as any failure to follow the disclosure process could have led to the proceedings being compromised or worse still collapsing. The disclosure process needs to be reviewed by the IPCC so it is clearer for all concerned in future investigations and I will be writing to the IPCC Chair Dame Anne Owers to request this.”

Following last week’s announcement Chief Constable Nick Gargan has been suspended. Acting Chief Constable John Long will continue to lead Avon and Somerset Constabulary and, following Mr Long’s retirement at the end of August, Deputy Chief Constable Gareth Morgan will take over on a temporary basis as Chief Constable.

SOUTH SOMERSET: Chief Constable asked to resign following misconduct charges

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