Neil Wilby Media

For seven years, up to 2020, the author of this article, Neil Wilby, held North Yorkshire Police to account at close quarters. Uncovering scandal after scandal and helping two chief constables, Dave Jones and Tim Madgwick, and a hapless, hopeless police and crime commissioner, Julia Mulligan, on their way out of office, absent of the usual valedictions.

The latter, incredibly, after eight years of staggering from crisis to crisis as PCC, now holds a senior position with the inaptly named ‘police watchdog’, the Independent Office for Police Conduct. 

The force still features on this Neil Wilby Media website more occasionally and usually when reporting upcoming misconduct hearings or their outcomes.

It is a seriously frustrating experience as the opacity and ineptitude over which they were exposed time and again during the aforementioned period still very much pertains.

A very recent example is a misconduct hearing due to take place today (1st August, 2024) at NYP HQ in Northallerton and at which Neil Wilby was due to be present.

The notice on the NYP website, setting out the allegation against PC James Spencer, must be one of the shortest in the history of the police service:

“On 10th September 2023 whilst off duty you sent an unsolicited offensive image of yourself, namely an image of your penis, to PC A.”

The force goes on to say that this conduct breached the standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Discreditable Conduct and Authority Respect and Courtesy which individually and/or cumulatively amounts to Gross Misconduct.

They also say that parts of the hearing may be held in private to protect sensitive and confidential information and reporting restrictions may also be made at the discretion of the Chair, Chief Constable Tim Forber.

In extended correspondence between the force’s Professional Standards Department and Neil Wilby the following public interest questions were either refused or ignored:

“Is PC 1593 the same officer that worked for West Yorkshire Police‘s Leeds District, at least until August, 2021 (see attached image of a commendation he received)?

“Whom will present the case for the Appropriate Authority?

“Will PC Spencer be (a) attending the hearing (b) be legally represented?

“If there is a reporting restrictions Order, may I please have sight of it? For the avoidance of doubt, no challenge is contemplated.

“When [the complaint] was first actioned by PSD and the subject officer’s present duty status?

“Finally, when using ciphers, such as ‘PC A’ in this case, it is important, in terms of reporting and public apprehension, that they are differentiated from similar or the same ciphers in other misconduct cases. Particularly, when there is proximity as in the use of ‘PC A’ in the recent misconduct case against ex-PC Hudson (read more here).

“The question is bound to be raised: Is is the same female officer who was involved in both cases?

A request was made to pass these matters through to the chief constable. In PSD’s reply to the journalist there was no confirmation, or suggestion, that such action had been taken.

The correspondence was concluded yesterday, as follows:

“After careful reflection, a decision has been taken not to attend the hearing tomorrow.

“One of the factors was the requirement to attend at 9am at police HQ for a 10am hearing: I am a newsgatherer authorised by the National Police Chiefs Council (see reverse of attached press card) and accredited by the NUJ and IFJ. Nowhere else on my beat – Coroner’s courts, inquests in other venues, Magistrates’, Crown, Appeal and High Courts or Employment and Information Rights Tribunals – do such ludicrous terms apply.

“If I may say so, it is part of the wider package by NYP to frustrate open justice and starve the public of information to which they are properly, and reasonably, entitled to know as funders of the service. With public confidence so low it is genuinely surprising that the ‘new’ chief constable has not sought to change the force’s practices in this area.

“Moreover, this misconduct hearing, and the correspondence between us that has accompanied it, is one where the public interest will be much better served by an article highlighting the glaring deficiencies of the process. It should serve as a reality check for CC Forber.

“Your press office will be afforded the standard courtesy of right of reply.”

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

Page last updated: Thursday 1st August, 2024 at 0915 hours

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Picture credit: NYP

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