Exclusive: police chief to face hearing over ‘job rigging’

Grahame Maxwell is the first UK chief constable in 35 years to face a disciplinary hearing, Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Israel has learned.

North Yorkshire’s two most senior police officers are to face disciplinary hearings for misconduct over claims they cheated a recruitment process.

Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell and his deputy Adam Briggs are alleged to have unfairly helped relatives get a foot on the career ladder at the first stage of a recruitment process aimed at employing 60 new officers.

Mr Maxwell is accused of gross misconduct for which the maximum penalty is dimissal. His deputy faces a lesser charge of misconduct.

It follows an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission into job applications for new officers.

Police statement
North Yorkshire Police have issued a statement regarding the IPCC recruitment investigation. 
"North Yorkshire Police can confirm that two members of police staff have been dismissed following findings of gross misconduct in respect of several breaches of the Police Staff Standards of Professional Behaviour arising from the investigation by North Yorkshire Police Professional Standards Department, managed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), in relation to certain aspects of the initial police officer recruitment process in February 2010.
"A police constable has also received a final written warning in relation to this matter.
"The individuals in question have a right of appeal. For that reason it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this time."

It is alleged the chief constable phoned one of his relatives, who was trying to apply, after thousands of potential candidates could not get through to a hotline because demand had caused the lines to crash.

Relatives of both senior officers did not make it onto a small list of names before the lines went down but were still called back.

Applications forms were only being made available to the first 1000 suitable candidates but the force received 350,000 calls in the week the phoneline was open.

One applicant who attempted to ring the line an estimated 5,800 times without success told Channel 4 News: “I think that because it is such senior police officers it just reiterates my doubts in the whole process… it just made the whole thing rather unpleasant really.”

In answer to a series of questions put by Channel 4 News, the IPCC said: “The findings from the investigation have been shared with North Yorkshire Police Authority’s Police Professional Standards Sub-Committee, which has responded by recommending that the chief constable should attend a hearing for gross misconduct and the deputy chief constable should attend a misconduct meeting.”

Two members of police staff have already been dimissed for gross misconduct over attempts to circumvent the same recruitment process for their own gain.

They submitted forms without going through the initial stage of registering their interest by phone. A police constable has been issued with a final written warning. Ironically, the force announced last week that the entire recruitment process had been scrapped as part of the cutbacks.

Channel 4 News understands that the hearings against the chief and deputy are due to take place in the next few months.

Pictures from Youtube

In this Youtube video Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell sends out a Christmas message to residents in North Yorkshire.

He says: “I just wanted at this time of year to send out a message, firstly just to send you out a message and wish you a merry Christmas and happy New Year, but also really to reflect on what’s been taking place in 2009. 2009 for North Yorkshire Police has been a very busy year. As you’re all well aware what we’re interested in doing is delivering the best possible policing service we can to you to make sure the area we live in, in North Yorkshire and the city of York, continues to be the safest area that we can make it.

“We’ve done very well this year. Crime continues to fall. Anti-social behaviour has continued to fall. And North Yorkshire and the city of Yorkshire is one of the safest areas to live, work and do business in.”

He then went on to talk about successful convictions his force had achieved and he puts out another plea for any information concerning the high profile case of missing chef Claudia Lawrence.

He says: “I’m going to appeal directly to somebody now. Because somebody out there knows what’s happened to Claudia. Somebody out there, hopefully listening to this, has information that will assist us to determine what has happened to Claudia. As you sit there this Christmas time with your family and you’re enjoying Christmas, just spare that thought for Claudia’s family, how they must be feeling without Claudia being with them at this time of year.”