Former Staffs Police Chief Constable committed gross misconduct, hearing concludes

The Director General of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has backed calls for an overhaul to the way senior police officers are chosen after gross misconduct was found against former Staffordshire Chief Constable Chris Noble. 

Mr Noble would have been dismissed without notice today (July 30) had he not resigned on the eve of a two-day disciplinary hearing where an independent panel found he had committed gross misconduct.

The 52-year-old – who led Staffordshire Police from December 2021 until his suspension in August 2025 having previously been Assistant Chief Constable with Humberside Police – was found to have breached standards of police professional behaviour. 

The outcome of the hearing will be shared with the College of Policing to place Mr Noble on the barred list, which prevents him from working in policing and other law enforcement bodies in the future.

The investigation into his conduct has been led by the IOPC, and we continue to investigate other allegations relating to Mr Noble both in and outside his policing duties.

The gross misconduct finding comes just weeks after a report by the Police Leadership Commission concluded standards in the upper echelons of policing in England and Wales fall short of the consistently high standards the public and police officers deserve.

We engaged with the Commission throughout the course of its work and submitted evidence to assist its findings.  

IOPC Director General Rachel Watson, said: “The report recommended an overhaul to promotion processes for chief officers to ensure transparency and fairness, for more investment in leadership training, and improvements to identifying and fast-tracking talent. I support these proposals.

“As the police complaints watchdog, we are uniquely placed to identify issues, areas of concern, and ways to improve policing. 

“I do believe most chief officers do a good job in challenging circumstances. But too often our investigations are uncovering longstanding, unreported concerns about their behaviour. Concerns need to be raised and heard long before someone is considered suitable for appointment to the chief officer rank.

“Police leaders set the culture for police forces so it’s vital the right people occupy chief officer positions - people with effective leadership skills and who come from diverse backgrounds, including experience away from policing. People should not reach chief officer ranks simply because their face ‘fits’.”

Until his resignation, Mr Noble had been one of eight serving or former chief constables under misconduct investigation or who were awaiting linked proceedings.

The chair of the misconduct hearing directed that no additional information relating to the detail of the allegations found against Mr Noble can be released at this time. The reporting restrictions will remain in place until further directions are issued by the chair.

The IOPC has set up a dedicated email address and phone number for anyone who would like to speak to our investigators about the case. We can be contacted on 0300 303 5734 or [email protected].