Police commissioner pledges reform after MP’s anger over police officer rape case

Devon’s police commissioner has pledged to push for improvements amid claims by a local MP that the case of a serving police officer who raped a local woman exposed serious failures in police vetting and safeguarding.

Newton Abbot Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley said: “This was a crime that has laid bare deep and continuing failures in police accountability, vetting and safeguarding.

“It has been a catastrophic breach of public trust.”

Last year the officer was sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of rape. He will be on the sex offenders register for life.

Mr Wrigley said the case had caused profound and lasting trauma to the survivor and exposed serious weaknesses in systems designed to protect the public from predatory behaviour by officers.

“This is not just about one individual officer,” he said. “It is about the leadership structures that allowed him to be employed into that position of trust.

“This was not a minor procedural lapse, it was a fundamental failure of protection.”

The MP said it was ‘unacceptable’ that the officer had not been dismissed immediately upon conviction of rape and was still a serving police officer whilst in prison. Taxpayer-funded pension contributions continued after his conviction.

“It is deeply disturbing that an officer who abused his authority to inflict serious harm continued to benefit from the very public they betrayed,” he added.

He said the case exposed failures in police recruitment and vetting procedures, with the offender having passed internal vetting processes. 

“Victims must have confidence that institutions will protect them, not empower their abusers,” said Mr Wrigley.

He called for better vetting procedures and the immediate termination of all payments and pensions on conviction.

“The fundamental question in this case is how such a crime was able to occur on the PCC’s watch after repeated promises of reform,” said Mr Wrigley.

Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez said her office had put in place the strongest scrutiny measures and processes currently allowed by law. Commissioners in other parts of the country were taking on board Devon and Cornwall’s ‘best practice’.

The law relating to the vetting of police officers was revised in 2024, and the commissioner’s office kept ‘strong oversight’ on the way police chief officers implemented it.

Ms Hernandez said it also allowed her to scrutinise any case which met the technical requirements for consideration of pension revocation.

“This is a complex, detailed, legal process with a number of steps, including the securing of both any comments made by the Judiciary, and the agreement of the Home Secretary,” she added. “As such, each case takes some considerable time to progress.

“At this time I am actively considering five separate cases, with a likelihood that a number will result in submissions to the Home Office for consideration of pension revocation.

“It is important to be aware there are different levels of vetting, and it needs to be acknowledged that although there have been improvements to national standards, vetting will never be infallible.”

She said the dismissal of police officers on conviction was a matter for the Chief Constable, and while ‘accelerated’ misconduct proceedings were possible, they still needed to meet the requirements of police regulations, which by law included certain notice periods.

“Even under the new, more robust legislation, dismissal cannot be immediate upon conviction,” said the commissioner.

“That both misconduct proceedings and criminal investigations can often take a significant, lengthy period of time to reach a conclusion has been a source of the strongest frustration and public criticism from me in recent years.

“I have repeatedly called for stronger powers to be given to Police and Crime Commissioners in these areas.  For the rest of my term of office I will continue to push for further improvements on behalf of all victims of these dreadful crimes.”