PCC Comments on IPCC Announcement

“Yesterday the IPCC released a statement regarding an incident that occurred in Humberside Police in 2014. The officers involved in that incident were dealt with by a misconduct hearing in February of this year. It is not my role to second-guess, from a distance, the findings or sanctions handed out during that process.

“Although I had been unaware of this incident, the statement released by Humberside Police raised a number of questions and concerns for me. I spoke to the Chief Constable about this matter and was reassured that the most important of these issues, relating to the victim, had been dealt with. The statement issued by the Force yesterday did not reflect the action taken by Humberside Police and could be interpreted as being defensive, when the Force had actually fully accepted its fault and apologised to the victim and his family.

“Although this incident occurred two years before I took over as Commissioner it still has the ability to shock. Nothing can excuse the manner in which the victim of this terrible incident was dealt with. It is my role to hold the Chief Constable to account for the actions of Humberside Police, not apologise for them, but I am sorry any person should have endured what this victim did when they should have been in the care of Humberside Police.

“I will follow up any managerial and leadership issues identified within the full IPCC report with the Chief Constable when it is published and ensure the public are informed of issues of concern and how they are addressed.”

Keith Hunter

Police and Crime Commissioner