Operation Forbes – IOPC concludes second strand of investigation into Cleveland Police

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has concluded the second of three investigations as part of Operation Forbes - looking at allegations of corruption and discrimination at Cleveland Police.

The latest completed investigation looked at complaints made about how Cleveland Police carried out an Equality Review in 2011.

The complaints were initially investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the findings were appealed against by the complainant.

We partially upheld this appeal and launched our own independent investigation into the complaints in December 2017.

After careful consideration of the available evidence, we have concluded there is insufficient evidence to indicate misconduct or criminality in respect of the officers and former officers involved.

IOPC Head of National Operations David Ford said: “The former officer made serious allegations of intimidation, victimisation, harassment and ostracism and it was necessary for us to look at these complaints closely.

“Since deciding to carry out our own investigation into these matters, we have obtained and examined an extensive amount of material including evidence gathered by the MPS and documentation presented to employment tribunals and the Home Affairs Select Committee. We also interviewed and obtained statements from the witnesses suggested by the complainant.

“We carefully considered this evidence before reaching our conclusion and while we found no evidence to suggest misconduct, we have highlighted a learning point to Cleveland Police to make sure that when it conducts future reviews, all participants have a clear understanding of the scope of the review.

“This has been an incredibly complex and resource-intensive investigation and we are satisfied that all relevant evidence was thoroughly analysed in coming to our decision.”

The third and final part of Operation Forbes is a managed investigation being carried out by West Midlands Police. This strand is looking at Cleveland Police’s use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). This investigation is ongoing.