Neil Wilby Media

It never rains, but it pours, for beleaguered Northamptonshire Police.

Holed beneath the waterline by the astonishing revelations at the stop-start misconduct proceedings that ended recently with the dismissal without notice of their former chief constable, ‘Commander’ Nick Adderley, they face another two uncomfortable days under the gaze of the press next month.

On 15th and 16th July, 2024 an, as yet, un-named officer faces allegation that, between December 2021 and July 2023, s/he failed to maintain an appropriate professional boundary with junior female colleagues and/or behaved in an inappropriately familiar manner; behaved in an inappropriate manner towards female members of the public; made inappropriately sexual and/ or personal comments to junior female colleagues about those colleagues and/or members of the public; touched junior female colleagues in a way which was unwanted and/or inappropriately personal.

The force says this conduct, if proven, breaches Standards of Professional Behaviour under the sections of Authority, Respect and Courtesy; Equality and Diversity; and Conduct.

A challenge is to be made by Neil Wilby Media – and very likely others amongst the local and regional press and broadcasters – to the, as yet, un-named Legally Qualified Chair of the Misconduct Panel regarding the terms of, and reasons for, the anonymity order.

Neil Wilby says: “Following the Adderley saga, there is substantial public interest in matters pertaining to Northants Police and the conduct of its officers. It is difficult to see, taking the allegations at their face, why the subject officer, presumed to be male, should benefit from anonymity, absent of any mental health issues or other extenuating circumstances.

“Nick Adderley was initially granted a hearing in private for reasons that proved unsustainable against a challenge by the Northants Telegraph (and possibly others). Read more here.

“The application I make to the LQC will support anonymity for the complainants, of course.

“A two day hearing suggests that the officer will deny the allegations and be legally represented.

“There are also questions to be answered by Northants Professional Standards Department regarding the subject officer’s present duty status, whether any criminal investigation took place in respect of the unwanted touching and the reason for the delay in bringing these proceedings, given that the last alleged offending took place almost a year ago”.

Northants Police has not yet published the notice of hearing on its website as required by The Police (Conduct) Regulations, 2020 at section 36(1) and (2) or, alternatively, given reasons why the LQC does not require such notice to be published. Which, it must be said, is an unlikely scenario.

This force also repeatedly failed to appropriately publish notices of hearings and re-listed hearings (following adjournments) in Nick Adderley’s misconduct case. Read more here.

One might also fairly say that it would be very much in the public interest, and, of course, the former chief constable’s interests, to rule out Adderley as the officer subject to the upcoming proceedings.

Follow Neil Wilby on Twitter (here) and Neil Wilby Media on Facebook (here) for signposts to any updates.

Page last updated: Monday 1st July, 2024 at 0845 hours

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Picture credit: Northants Police

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