Watchdog investigation into former Chief Constable to be discussed
The meeting of the Police and Crime panel will be the first since the sudden retirement of Paul Anderson
The Independent Office of Police Conduct’s (IOPC) investigation into misconduct allegations against Humberside Police’s suddenly retired Chief Constable will discussed at a meeting this week.
The IOPC’s independent investigation into the conduct of Paul Anderson, Humberside Police Chief Constable from August 1, 2023, to June 25 this year, is “largely related to communication and behaviour towards colleagues”. This is confirmed in a report by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s chief executive, Rachel Cook, ahead of a Humberside Police and Crime Panel meeting.
The panel is a body that meets several times a year to scrutinise and hold to account the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and the police force. It is to meet on Thursday. The investigation detail is part of the OPCC’s latest update on Humberside Police developments, which also covers the Hull Legacy Funeral Directors investigation.
It will be the first panel meeting since Paul Anderson’s retirement as Chief Constable and the IOPC investigation into misconduct allegations. Judi Heaton QPM has been appointed as temporary Chief Constable for up to six months. A recruitment process is being held to find a permanent replacement.
Mr Anderson’s retirement was officially announced on June 25. A day later, the OPCC announced allegations of potential misconduct had been referred to the IOPC and it had begun an independent investigation.
The OPCC’s report ahead of the Police and Crime Panel meeting restates the IOPC’s previous statement that the referral to it “contained allegations concerning standards of behaviour, largely related to communication and behaviour towards colleagues”.
The OPCC’s report also re-emphasises the timeline of when the allegations were made. On Wednesday, June 12, the OPCC received details of potential misconduct by the Chief Constable. “Following further enquiries and due consideration it became apparent that the OPCC was obliged to refer the matter to the IOPC, and this was done on Monday June 24, 2024,” the report states.
Despite Mr Anderson’s retirement, which comes after 34 years in policing as a whole and five years in senior Humberside Police roles, the IOPC investigation will continue. There are three types of investigation the IOPC can carry out, when it decides an allegation needs to be looked into.
It can direct a local investigation by the police force’s own professional standards department. It is a separate element within a police force that handles complaints and misconduct, counter corruption, vetting and governance. The IOPC could also have launched a directed investigation, where it directs and controls the investigation using police resources. The third option, used to investigate the allegations made against the former Chief Constable, is an independent investigation, carried out by the IOPC’s independent investigators.
Legacy Funeral Directors and community funds
The investigation into the retired Chief Constable is far from the only update in the OPCC’s report, to be looked over by the panel. It is also confirmed a peer review process is planned to assess its response to the Legacy Funeral Directors investigation. A tailored victim support service was set up shortly after the investigation broke. PCC Jonathan Evison awarded a contract to Victim Support for it, with £700,000 funding per year set aside until March 31, 2026.
Community funds of the PCC’s budget have also continued to be approved for a variety of projects across Humberside. This includes £20,000 of the Community Safety Fund to support the gym relocation of Hull’s Tommy Coyle Academy, and £17,500 from the Community Response Fund for after school and school holiday activities for secondary school children at the Hinge Centre, Bridlington.
It also details that North Lincolnshire’s Community Safety Partnership (CSP), made up of the likes of the local authority, police, ONGO and Humberside Fire & Rescue Service, recently successfully bid for funding “to tackle exploitation and violence of the Roma/Romanian community in Scunthorpe”.