Devon and Cornwall PCC defends handling of chief constable misconduct complaints
Watch Devon and Cornwall's PCC talk to ITV News' Sam Blackledge
Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner has defended her handling of misconduct complaints against two chief constables, insisting she is still the right person to hold the force to account.
Alison Hernandez denied she has overseen a period of chaos, and blamed the police watchdog - the Independent Office for Police Conduct - for "unfortunate" delays in resolving disciplinary issues.
In response, the watchdog stressed the "complex" nature of their investigations.
Devon and Cornwall Police's former Chief Constable Will Kerr was suspended in 2023, after it emerged he was under investigation over allegations of sexual offences during his work with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Acting Chief Constable Jim Colwell was then suspended in November after allegations of misconduct. He has since returned to his role as Deputy Chief Constable with a written warning "to last for 18 months" after misconduct was proven by a police watchdog panel.
The force is currently being led by interim Chief Constable James Vaughan.
Earlier this week, having seen the criminal investigation against him dropped, but with a police watchdog inquiry still ongoing, Mr Kerr announced his retirement.
It means the force is now looking for its fourth leader in fewer than two years.
Hernandez said: "As a Police and Crime Commissioner, if any information comes in about potential misconduct, you refer it to the Independent Office for Police Conduct," she said.
"Then it's out of your control. There are procedures and processes you must follow. It's just unfortunate that it takes so long to carry out any form of investigation."
'We are stable right now'
She added: "Fundamentally, the standards start with me. I set the tone by employing the right or wrong chief constable.
'Will (Kerr) has not been found guilty of anything yet. It's just sad that we've had these difficult and overlapping investigations.
"But we are stable right now, James Vaughan is doing an excellent job and he is the Chief Constable as we speak."
Ms Hernandez said she believes the police watchdog is not fit for purpose.
"The problem we've got, is that they need to give Police and Crime Commissioners more power to take control of these situations, instead of allowing third parties that haven't got the people of Devon and Cornwall at their heart," she said.
"I would have liked to have commissioned my own investigation to decide what those timescales needed to look like. It certainly would have been done a lot quicker."
But the watchdog responded, insisting it was dealing with a highly complex investigation running across "multiple strands".
A spokesperson said: “Our investigations into alleged misconduct by Will Kerr will continue following the announcement of his retirement as Chief Constable of Devon & Cornwall Police.
“Our investigation into Mr Kerr has been active for six months. We launched our initial misconduct investigation in late July 2023 following a referral from the PCC but it had to be suspended in November that year to avoid any prospect of prejudicing the criminal investigation in Northern Ireland which had to take precedence.
“In April this year, after prosecutors in Northern Ireland decided not to bring criminal charges against Mr Kerr, we resumed our misconduct investigation relating to those criminal allegations.
“This is a complex investigation running across multiple strands. It’s important we independently examine all the allegations thoroughly and, once concluded, we will decide whether or not disciplinary proceedings should follow.”
Steve Race, Labour MP for Exeter, said the whole saga does not reflect well on the region.
"This has been a really bad period for the police force," he said.
"I really want the commissioner to draw a line under this, to recruit the next chief constable who we can be confident can turn the force around."