Calls for Cleveland Police to be placed back into special measures, as the number of officer misconduct cases just keeps on getting worse...

PC Robert Coffey becomes the latest officer to be dismissed from the force of no public confidence amidst claims Clevelabd Police could be put back into special measures if further misconduct cases come to light.

24th Nov 2024

A Cleveland Police officer has been sacked without notice after an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation uncovered serious misconduct. The investigation revealed that PC Robert Coffey failed to properly investigate and report an incident involving a couple in Hartlepool town centre. Just Hours later, the woman involved then became the victim of a domestic assault—a crime that could have potentially been prevented had the officer taken appropriate action.

The Incident and Investigation

Its claimed that on the evening of March 23, 2019, PC Coffey was on duty in Hartlepool town centre when a member of the public reported a couple fighting. Both individuals appeared to have sustained injuries. PC Coffey spoke to them and took the woman home but failed to conduct a proper investigation or report the matter to colleagues. Shockingly, no record of the incident was made at the time.

In the early hours of the following morning, police were called to the woman’s home address, where she was found with facial injuries, her male companion from the previous evening was then arrested for assault. Following this, PC Coffey retroactively entered details about the earlier incident into the police force computer system. However, the IOPC investigation determined that this entry was in fact 'misleading' and did not accurately reflect the events that occurred.

Gross Misconduct and Dishonesty

The IOPC concluded its investigation in December 2019 and found that PC Coffey had a case to answer for gross misconduct. Cleveland Police reportedly agreed with those findings, leading to a misconduct hearing. The hearing, which concluded on November 22, 2024, found PC Coffey had breached police standards in three critical areas, The IPOC report also outlined that PC Coffey’s dishonesty betrayed public trust and undermined the integrity of the police force. As a result, he was dismissed without notice and placed on the barred list, preventing him from working in law enforcement in the future.

A Junior Officer’s Integrity

The IOPC is said to have commended the actions of a more junior officer who initially raised concerns about PC Coffey’s actions. According to IOPC Regional Director Emily Barry, “Their integrity ensured PC Coffey faced a thorough investigation and has now been held accountable.” This highlights the importance of whistle-blowers within the force who prioritize public safety and justice over internal loyalty.

Criminal Prosecution

The case was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which initially charged PC Coffey with the corrupt or improper exercise of police powers. However, the prosecution was eventually withdrawn during a trial in June 2023 after delays caused by repeated rescheduling.

Public Accountability

The dismissal of PC Coffey is likely to spark the debate over whether the force has actually turned a corner, following decades long scandals which have all but left the reputation of Cleveland Police in tatters. Cleveland Police was previously placed in special measures following a report by the then HM Inspectorate of Constabularies who found the force to be failing in almost every area of its operations. A source told Teesside Today that following Cleveland Police's move into special measures talks behind the scenes began to emerge about the force being disbanded & the service merged into nearby Durham Constabulary, however the sheer numbers of officers from the Cleveland force area becoming the subject of misconduct hearings is said to have raised the question once more over whether the government now needs to step in following concerns Cleveland Police's record of disciplinary hearings is exposing a far larger problem with the force itself.

The dismissal of PC Coffey should serve as reassurance to local members of the public that misconduct within Cleveland Police will not go unchecked, however, critics claim its evidence of a far more sinister undercurrent operating at Cleveland Police, with little signs of any improvement in operational standards or evidence to show its prior corrupt activities have been remedied.