WIREDGOV

A Cleveland Police hearing yesterday (Wednesday 27 November) decided that a police sergeant should receive a final written warning, following our investigation.

The hearing, which is completely independent of the IOPC, found that gross misconduct was proven. 

We carried out an independent investigation following a voluntary referral from Cleveland Police concerning the removal and disposal of sensitive material from police premises. We concluded our investigation, which included complaints from a number of members of the public, in August 2019.

The material, relating to investigations of a highly sensitive nature dating back to 2016, was found near a skip in Hartlepool by a member of the public in June 2018. The member of the public contacted a national newspaper and a reporter then handed the material to Cleveland Police, who referred this matter to us for consideration.

During our investigation we found evidence to suggest that Police Sergeant Martin Skirving-Chehab, who had been in possession of the materials prior to them being found, may have breached the police standards of professional behaviour and concluded that he had a case to answer for gross misconduct. Cleveland Police agreed with that assessment. 

IOPC Interim Regional Director David Ford yesterday said:

“Police forces across the country handle highly sensitive information about historic and ongoing investigations as part of their routine activities, however this case highlights how police officers cannot afford to become complacent about how such data is stored, handled and disposed of.

“We carried out a detailed investigation into the circumstances of this serious data breach and provided the panel overseeing the hearing with a great deal of evidence, which they were able to use to inform their conclusions alongside the live evidence they heard during the hearing.

“It is our role to follow the evidence with impartiality and to provide our conclusions to the force, not to oversee any subsequent disciplinary process. In this particular case it was vital for public confidence that this incident was investigated by us independently of the force.

“We recognise that Cleveland Police has apologised to those individuals who were affected by this data breach and we have recommended that they also review their data protection policies.”