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The Independent Police Complaints Commission's investigation into concerns about the quality of work and qualifications of a 49-year-old man who worked as a scenes of crime officer is continuing.

The investigation, which began in February 2011, covers a time period from 1996 to 2011. The man worked for Staffordshire Police from 1996 to 2002, Northumbria Police for a short period in 2002 and Cleveland Police from 2002 to 2011. Major Incident Teams at Staffordshire and Cleveland Police have been working on the investigation, under the direction and control of an IPCC investigator. Northumbria Police worked with the IPCC to confirm that there were no concerns over the man's work during his short employment with them.

The man was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice in May 2011 and remains on bail. He was suspended from duty by Cleveland Police in February 2011 and resigned in October 2011.

The managed investigation is examining allegations that the man conducted sub-standard work, potentially undermining investigations into a range of incidents including suspicious deaths, and had lied about his qualifications when involved in arson investigations.

So far:

• Cleveland Police identified 141 cases involving suspicious deaths which required review. So far reviews of 90 have been completed. This review has highlighted eight cases where the alleged failings of the officer could have had an impact. As a result further work has been or is being undertaken around those cases.
• Cleveland Police has also undertaken a review of all arsons attended by the officer – 214 cases. Sixteen of those cases are now with the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration of potential prosecution or referral to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
• Cleveland Police is undertaking a review of all exhibits handled by the officer – 3308 cases reviewed. These have been graded into Red, Amber and Green categories. There are approximately 480 cases in the red category, ie those causing the most concern, for example where the officer has handled exhibits in cases involving convictions and where there is a possibility he may have compromised the integrity of the case. A full review of all these cases is to be undertaken.
• Staffordshire Police has reviewed 1570 scenes of crime report forms completed by the officer. Of these 32 were found to require further analysis.
• The investigation is also examining the supervision of the officer during his time with the two forces.

IPCC Commissioner Cindy Butts said: "This remains a complex investigation covering a period of 15 years and a significant number of cases. The examination of those cases is ongoing but is a huge task and will take several more months. The most significant cases have been prioritised and any additional work identified has been acted on immediately. Cleveland Police have ensured that families affected by these cases have been kept informed.

"As this remains a criminal investigation we do not intend to go into specific detail about cases at this stage.”