Humiliated: Yorkshire police chief gets ‘final warning’ for gross misconduct

NORTH Yorkshire’s most senior policeman Grahame Maxwell today received public dressing-down and a final written warning following a disciplinary hearing for trying to help a relative get a foot on the police career ladder.

Investigators slammed Mr Maxwell for believing he could “do what he wanted” as Chief Constable.

The police chief dramatically admitted gross misconduct yesterday and had faced being sacked today.

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He faced a disciplinary panel yesterday over allegations that he unfairly helped a relative during his force’s chaotic recruitment process last year.

The hearing had been expected to last at least a week and North Yorkshire Police, its governing police authority and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) last night all refused to disclose what took place during the hearing, which was held behind closed doors at a secret location.

But the Yorkshire Post has learnt that the chief constable’s admission of gross misconduct – on the grounds of discreditable conduct – was accepted by the panel at the start of yesterday’s hearing which then heard mitigation on behalf of Mr Maxwell.

The panel, chaired by Joanna Greenberg QC and also including former South Yorkshire officer Bernard Hogan-Howe, then retired to consider its sanction yesterday afternoon.

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It could have sacked Mr Maxwell, who would have been the first chief constable of a UK force for more than 30 years to face such a sanction. But today it delivered the lesser sanction of a final written warning.

At the same time, the IPCC, which had been investigating the allegations against Mr Maxwell and his deputy Adam Briggs, attacked the two for failing to set an example to colleagues.

Mr Maxwell’s legal representatives Kingsley Napley said in a statement that

Mr Maxwell, 50, “admitted an allegation that he had breached professional standards and thereby brought discredit upon and undermined public confidence in the police service”.

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It said: “In admitting the charge as particularised, the chief constable, who at no time intended to breach or knowingly breached professional standards, and who did not intend to confer any improper advantage on another person, accepts that his conduct has been discreditable to the force and amounts to gross misconduct.”

The statement went on: “In deciding to admit the charge, the chief constable acknowledges and reflects upon the very high professional standards he is subject to and which he has always maintained the public is entitled to expect.

“He is sincerely sorry and saddened that a very difficult week resulted in errors of judgment, but continues to lead the North Yorkshire Police and wishes only to focus on doing his best for the force in his position as its chief constable.”

The case revolved around a recruitment exercise last spring which collapsed into chaos after the force’s phone system crashed when it was deluged by calls from applicants.

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North Yorkshire planned to recruit 60 new officers and intended to restrict applications to the first 1,000 suitable callers.

But the force received around 350,000 calls, the vast majority being unable to get through.

The force then launched a call-back exercise after a list of a small number who had managed to leave details was compiled.

Mr Maxwell was filmed during publicity for the recruitment drive manning the phone lines himself.

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It was later found that a relative of the Chief Constable and a relative of Mr Briggs were called, which prompted an inquiry overseen by the IPCC.

Mr Briggs faced misconduct allegations over his role in the affair and had two of six counts against him upheld in December. The two upheld were failing “to challenge and report improper conduct” and “discreditable conduct” for which he received a sanction of “management advice”.

Mr Briggs retired from the force in February shortly after a dispute with the police authority over a separate investigation into how he spent £10,000 on “executive coaching”.

Three other police staff were investigated over attempts to unfairly influence the recruitment process. Two civilian workers were sacked and a police constable received a final written warning.

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North Yorkshire ended up scrapping the recruitment plans because of the financial cuts hitting the police service.

The Yorkshire Post understands that Mr Maxwell became embroiled in disciplinary trouble because he did not admit his role in the affair until nine days after Mr Briggs’s involvement was established.

IPCC Commissioner Nicholas Long said today: “The Chief Constable and his deputy are the two most senior officers in the force and are supposed to lead by example and set the standards for others to follow.

“They chose to circumvent systems that had been put in place to benefit people they knew, while others were expected to follow the process.

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“CC Maxwell’s initial defence was that his actions were ‘direction and control’ - essentially saying he could do what he wanted because he was the Chief Constable.

“That is an unacceptable attitude from such a senior officer.

“It is to be welcomed that CC Maxwell now acknowledges and has admitted his gross misconduct.”

Mr Long said that neither Mr Maxwell nor Mr Briggs disputed the key parts of the evidence against them.

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He said: “This matter has seriously undermined the reputations they had developed and represent a significant low point in the long-standing careers of CC Maxwell and DCC Briggs.”

Mr Long also revealed that the abilities of IPCC investigators had been questioned by Mr Maxwell during the inquiry.

The commissioner said: “The IPCC at various stages has been accused of disproportionality. We have been challenged by some senior policing figures and our investigators’ abilities were questioned by the Chief Constable in an unacceptable attempt to discredit the investigation.

“Today is the first occasion on which details of this investigation have been made public, and I am confident that will quash the speculation and gossip that has surrounded this matter.”

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Mr Maxwell became North Yorkshire’s chief constable in 2007, joining from South Yorkshire Police, where he was deputy.

His father was a village bobby in County Durham and he joined the neighbouring Cleveland force where he started as a Pc in Middlesbrough and worked his way up to chief superintendent.

He was appointed assistant chief constable with West Yorkshire Police in 2000 and joined the South Yorkshire force as deputy in 2005.