‘PCC lacks empathy for Nick Gargan’s victims’

Pete Levy stood against Sue Mountstevens in the election for Avon and Somerset’s Police and Crime Commissioner. He writes about the latest controversy surrounding Nick Gargan and the PCC.

Since her election as Avon and Somerset’s Police and Crime Commissioner, I have done my utmost to support Sue Mountstevens and her initiatives. I haven’t always agreed with her stance on every issue but I accept that as PCC she has the right to discharge her duties as she sees fit. I’ve grown increasingly concerned however about the manner in which she conducts her office, in particular her lack of engagement and the lack of transparency that seems to surround her decision making process.

Since Nick Gargan’s appointment in January 2013 there have been concerns that the friendship between him and the PCC could hinder scrutiny or challenges towards his decisions by the PCC. Concerns continued around a lack of transparency and public consultation on issues such as the closure of police stations, the reduction of neighbourhood policing and direct entry to senior officer level, as well as privatisation plans for key areas of operational policing.

In May 2014 it was announced that Mr Gargan was being suspended following ‘serious allegations’ made against him. The PCC’s immediate response was that ‘Mr Gargan denied the allegations and was devastated’. There appeared to be more reference to Mr Gargan than concern for those who had stepped forward.

It was discovered that the PCC had revealed the identity of one of the complainants to Mr Gargan. A significant issue being that if the identity of a complainant was revealed to him before his suspension then presumably the details of the complaint were also revealed. This had the additional element of possibly jeopardising any subsequent IPCC investigation.

Ms Mountstevens quietly provided justification for such a breach of trust by saying she was not in possession of all the facts or the complainant’s whistleblower status. The Police and Crime Panel subsequently accused the PCC of a ‘serious error of judgement’, breaching her code of conduct by revealing the identity of the whistleblower to Mr Gargan before he was suspended. The panel also noted the PCC’s office did not admit to the disclosure for several months and the issue was compounded when their identity became known to several news agencies.

I question the sincerity of the apology for her ‘innocent mistake’ being quietly issued on a Friday evening before a school holiday. I also question her claim that she revealed details of the complainants as a result of inexperience. Prior to her election as PCC she served as a member of the Police Authority, as a magistrate and also has a background as a professional businesswoman. In addition, her office also includes a chief executive. This is the same legal professional who served six years as Chief Executive of the Police Authority as well as a significant career as a senior legal professional with a number of prominent legal firms. The same Chief Executive who would have assisted the PCC’s legal battle with the previous chief constable, Colin Port.

The key issue throughout has been the PCC’s lack of empathy and support for victims, apparent support for Mr Gargan and a lack of transparency regarding her actions and those of her office.

During a recent strange turn of events the PCC’s office initially stated Mr Gargan would not be returning to work until after his sanction hearing and before the details of the eight counts of misconduct are revealed. However it has since been revealed that he sat alongside the PCC on the selection panel for a new deputy chief constable on his first day back.

There has been widespread condemnation that this situation has been allowed to drift. Including three former chief constables calling on Nick Gargan to step down, the Police Federation expressing a lack of confidence in Mr Gargan, a group of retired senior officers with Avon and Somerset calling for Mr Gargan to be ‘sacked or removed’, an online petition calling on Mr Gargan to resign signed by more than 1,000 people and one of the biggest trade unions, UNISON voicing its concern.

The investigation into the allegations against Mr Gargan has already taken over 15 months and is set to cost taxpayers over £540,000. More importantly, some staff at Avon and Somerset have voiced their concern at Mr Gargan’s return to work and the possible difficulties his return will create for those who made the allegations in the first place.

The role of the PCC is ‘to be the voice of the people’ and ‘to hold chief constables and the force to account, effectively making the police answerable to the communities they serve’.

I stood as a PCC candidate because I was critical of the move to PCCs and was concerned at the potential of inexperienced individuals being elected to such an important post. However, I concede that a number of elected PCCs regardless of political/independent affiliations have represented the public honestly and openly. Sadly not in Avon and Somerset.