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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY DEPUTY M.R. HIGGINS OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 1st DECEMBER 2015
Question
Will the Minister advise members whether the former Minister for Home Affairs or Acting Chief Officer of Jersey Police reported a Detective Superintendent who was seconded from Lancashire Police and who leaked information regarding Operation Rectangle to a U.K. journalist whilst a serving police officer, to (a) the Lancashire Constabulary or (b) to Operation Elveden, which investigated police leaks to the media, and if not why not?
Answer
The Detective Superintendent was seconded from the Lancashire Constabulary to the States of Jersey Police between 8th September 2008 and 27th August 2009 to undertake the role as Senior Investigating Officer to lead the Operation Rectangle investigation into historic child abuse.
He returned to his home Force (Lancashire) on 27th August 2009 until his retirement from the police service on 2nd September 2009.
Prior to leaving Jersey he gave a number of interviews to local Jersey media about his role.
On 3rd October 2009, the Mail on Sunday published an article which was critical of the Operation Rectangle investigation. The article contained references to a "leaked report by financial auditors" and details of costs and expenditure incurred during the investigation.
Reference is also made in the article to having spoken with the former Detective Superintendent seconded from the Lancashire Constabulary the night before publication including several quotes from him.
Whilst giving evidence before the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry on Friday 20th November 2015, the former Detective Superintendent admitted to providing information from an interim report compiled by an accountant. The former Detective Superintendent explained that he "believe[d] strongly that it was in the public interest that the evidence of not just poor financial management, but corrupt practices in financial management were made public because the information I was being given [was that] this information wasn't going to be made public".
This disclosure was made by former Detective Superintendent after he retired from the police service and without the knowledge of the States of Jersey Police. Such a disclosure would not have been authorised by the States of Jersey Police.
As former Detective Superintendent had retired from the police service by this time, he was beyond the reach of any disciplinary proceedings by the Lancashire Constabulary and as he was no longer a serving officer no referral was made to the Lancashire Constabulary by the States of Jersey Police.
Operation Elveden was established by the Metropolitan Police on 20th June 2011, almost 2 years after former Detective Superintendent retired from the police service. Operation Elveden was supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The terms of reference for the enquiry was "to investigate alleged criminal offences that police officers or public officials have accepted money for supplying information to journalists".
A referral was not made to the Metropolitan Police or the Independent Police Complaints Commission about the former Detective Superintendent's disclosure as neither had jurisdiction in Jersey as a Crown Dependency.