2022/25003 - Conduct hearings

REQUEST

I have just read the fact that the hearings into the Conduct of Chief Supt’s Warrender and Budden are due to be held behind Closed doors.

This Conduct hearing is firstly as a result of the Officers Conduct at a Drunken Night out in June / July 2019.

The investigation was completed by Avon and Somerset by July 2020 and handed to the CPS who made the Decision in March 2021 that No Criminal charges would be brought.

It is Now another Year before the Chief Constable of Gwent has brought a Discipline hearing. The Chief Constable must have been in possession of the Facts of that night and any subsequent information of the conduct of these officers towards females in this case for some considerable time. It has been reported that the cost in wages for the Two Officers has easily exceed Half a Million Pounds in the TWO years and Seven months on Suspension and resulted in a loss of public confidence.

My questions go to the less than Prompt and effective way the Chief Constable has dealt with Two members of her SMT Please provide

1. Date of Joining the Police for Both Officers / Date of Due retirement of both Officers 2. Who will sit on the Discipline panel in the conduct hearing

RESPONSE

1.

Section 40 third party detail

The exemption applicable to the information you have requested for this question can be found at Section 40(2) Personal Information, of the Act and this refusal notice is issued under Section 17.

Gwent Police is withholding the information you have requested on the basis that the exemption contained in s 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act applies in that the information you have requested is personal data of third parties and the disclosure of the data would breach one of the principles contained in the Data Protection Act. The relevant principle is the first principle which states that:

Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and in particular shall not be processed unless –

(a) at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met and

(b) in the case of sensitive personal data, at least one of the conditions in Schedule 3 is met

It is only necessary to consider (a) in respect of the information requested. The relevant condition in Schedule 2 is condition 6 which states that:

"The processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the data controller or by the third party or parties to whom the data are disclosed, except where the processing is unwarranted in any particular case by reason of prejudice to the rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of the data subject"

2. The proceeding in this matter are governed by the LQC Mr John Bassett. This should be referred to him.