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Six serving police officers and a former officer have had a criminal investigation launched against them over “discriminatory” and “derogatory” messages shared in a WhatsApp group, a watchdog has confirmed. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the officers are being investigated for offences under the Communications Act after allegedly sending “grossly offensive messages”.
The watchdog has identified a “significant number” of messages of a “discriminatory, derogatory or pornographic nature” that were shared within a WhatsApp group.
The officers in question are five serving with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), a former CNC officer who now works for another force and an ex-CNC officer.
All seven have also been advised they are under investigation for potential gross misconduct.
This does not necessarily mean conduct proceedings or criminal charges will follow and the status of each officer will remain under review throughout the investigation.
The move to launch a probe followed referrals from the CNC and a force in the southwest of England, according to the watchdog.
IOPC Regional Director Catherine Bates said the allegations being made against the people in question are extremely “serious and concerning”.
She added the watchdog will decide whether the matters should be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service wollowing the conclusion of its investigation.
Ms Bates said as the investigation has now started, there will be no further comment at this time.
The IOPC Regional Director said: “The allegations against these officers and a former officer are extremely serious and concerning.
“On conclusion of our investigation we will decide whether the matters should be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, whose role it is to determine whether criminal charges will follow.”
“As this work is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
The IOPC is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales which, since January 8, 2018, has been responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in the two countries.
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