Recommendation 1
The IOPC recommends that the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) publicly outline the action it has taken to improve standards following the conclusion of the various culture related reviews it has commissioned.
This follows an IOPC investigation where a mobile phone, owned by an ex-Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officer was forensically examined following their arrest for an unrelated offence. The forensic examination identified a WhatsApp group with six other serving MPS officers which held messages containing discriminatory and derogatory language about race and ethnicity, women, victims of crime and other individuals. Whilst the other six police officers in the group chat were all serving with MPS officers, all the members in the group chat were also former CNC officers.
As one of the threads linking the police officers in the WhatsApp group was their previous employment with the CNC, concerns were raised by the IOPC as to how this reflected on the CNC’s overall working culture and how such views had been allowed to exist amongst its police officers.
The CNC liaised with the IOPC throughout the Operation Argens investigation and subsequently disclosed numerous reviews it had commissioned. Some reviews were carried out internally, but a number of reviews were also carried out externally, by independent third parties. The various reviews commissioned by the CNC focussed on a range of topics, from the broader issue of general CNC working culture to more specific gender reviews and vetting processes. These reviews have informed several changes made by the CNC as well as influencing CNC corporate strategies with regards to officer training, informational materials and the day-to-day activities of CNC officers and staff. If the CNC were to consider releasing the actions it has taken to improve its working culture, it is likely that overall public confidence in the CNC would be improved as a result.
Addressed to: Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) publicly outline the action it has taken to improve standards following the conclusion of the various culture related
Linked bodies:
Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) publicly outline the action it has taken to improve standards following the conclusion of the various culture related