Allegations of perjury - Avon and Somerset Constabulary, February 2018

In February 2018 Avon and Somerset Constabulary received a call from HMP Bristol informing them that a man had died in his cell. The man was on remand, awaiting trial for drugs offences. An officer from the force attended a pre-case management hearing at Bristol Crown Court and informed the court of the man’s death. While under oath he allegedly misled the court about his personal role regarding the identification of the man as part of the requirement to satisfy the court that the deceased was the person named on the indictment.

The officer involved was investigated for the criminal offence of perjury and alleged gross misconduct. During the investigation, our investigators interviewed the officer and other witnesses, and secured and reviewed recordings from the relevant court hearing. Following completion of the investigation a referral was made to the Crown Prosecution Service, who reviewed the case but did not pursue any criminal charge.

In terms of disciplinary matters we were of the opinion that there was sufficient evidence upon which a tribunal could find that the officer gave an untruthful account to the court, and also displayed a lack of integrity in that he did not do anything to correct his account, which he realised had been inaccurate. We were of the view that the officer had a case to answer for gross misconduct and that he should appear before a gross misconduct hearing

After reviewing our report, Avon and Somerset Constabulary agreed. The force held a misconduct hearing, at which gross misconduct was proven. The officer was dismissed without notice.