UK police force to investigate complaint against senior officer

Saturday 26 February 2022

The Committee for Home Affairs is appointing a UK police force to investigate a complaint against a senior officer locally.

The complaint was made by a man who had his gun licence revoked temporarily after a domestic incident in which he claims he was "arrested and taken out of the family home with no evidence".

The appointment of an investigating officer from outside the island is a procedure set out in the Police Complaints Law of 2008 where the Committee finds that "a complaint is not suitable for informal resolution or that, after attempts have been made to resolve a complaint informally, informal resolution of the complaint is impossible or the complaint is, for any other reason, unsuitable for informal resolution".

The Committee said "it is very important to make clear that this is in line with the standard statutory procedure for investigating complaints made against senior-ranking officers".

The man's partner said the couple wanted to tell the story of their complaint and the incidents leading up to it because "awareness needs to be brought to how public authorities approach situations like ours".

Pictured: The couple, Rob Curgenven and Lucia Pirito, said that Ms Pirito fell down some stairs in their home during an argument last year. 

On one night last year, Rob Curgenven and his partner, Lucia Pirito, had an argument. The couple said that at some point during the argument Ms Pirito fell down the stairs and then left their home to go to see a friend.

Ms Pirito said that her friend called the police and that two officers arrived to interview her. She said she told them that she did not wish to lodge a complaint against Mr Curgenven. Ms Pirito said the incident was simply a heated argument and that she had tripped down the stairs.

The couple said that on the following day two police officers attended their home to conduct a welfare check and interview Mr Curgenven about the incident the previous evening. 

Pictured: Police became involved when they were telephoned by a friend of Lucia Pirito. 

Ms Pirito has a son with special needs and the couple share his care. They said that when officers arrived at their home, the boy was having a fit, and that Mr Curgenven asked the officers to leave and return later. 

They said the officers told Mr Curgenven that they would not leave and that when he continued to insist that they should leave they arrested him. They said that a police officer called an ambulance to help Ms Pirito with her son.

Mr Curgenven said that he was then interviewed by police, that they put it to him that he had pushed Ms Pirito down the stairs and charged him with assault. Mr Curgenven said that subsequently the Law Officers of the Crown decided that the charges against him could not be substantiated in a court case and that therefore the charges were dropped. 

Mr Curgenven said that his gun licence was revoked as a result of these events.

Pictured: Mr Curgenven said this his firearms licence was initially revoked but has since been reinstated.

“It was scary for me - being arrested and taken out of the family home with no evidence,” said Mr Curgenven.

Ms Pirito said: “Awareness needs to be brought to how public authorities approach situations like ours."

Mr Curgenven and Ms Pirito said they lodged a complaint against the officers who had arrested Mr Curgenven. They said they were unhappy about how the police dealt with their complaint and that they therefore submitted a complaint to the Police Complaints Commission against the senior police officer who had overseen the initial complaint. 

They said that Mr Curgenven also lodged a complaint against another senior officer in relation to what he considered to be the improper removal of his firearms licence.

Pictured: A UK police force will now be called in to investigate complaints made by a couple who remain deeply unhappy about how they were treated by Guernsey Police following incidents at their home last year. 

The couple said that after contacting the Director of Operations, Justice and Regulations - a senior civil service role - they decided that the complaint about the temporary removal of Mr Curgenven's firearms licence should be elevated to the Committee for Home Affairs, which is responsible for policing in Guernsey.

Express has seen a letter written to Mr Curgenven by the Director of Operations, Justice and Regulations. In the letter, Mr Curgenven is told that the Committee for Home Affairs had met to discuss his complaints. 

The letter states: “If proven, the allegations that you have made...could be potentially classified as a breach of the Professional Standards and therefore amount to misconduct.

“That is not to say, however, that the Committee has drawn any conclusions about the merits of your complaint at this stage.”

Pictured: Police complaints legislation permits the Committee for Home Affairs to call in a senior officer from another police force to investigate unresolved complaints against senior officers in Guernsey. 

Express invited the Committee for Home Affairs to comment on its decision to call in a senior officer from a UK police force to investigate and received the following the statement: 

“In response to a complaint concerning the conduct of a senior-ranking police officer, the Committee for Home Affairs is appointing an independent investigator from an external police force to conduct an enquiry. It is very important to make clear that this is in line with the standard statutory procedure for investigating complaints made against senior-ranking officers.

“The Committee for Home Affairs, in its capacity as Appropriate Authority under the Police Complaints (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008, assesses complaints alleging potential misconduct against senior-ranking officers but is not an investigating authority [and] so appoints external police forces to investigate complaints.

“Under the statutory process defined within the Law and the Police Complaints (Conduct, Proceedings and Investigations) (Guernsey) Regulations 2011, the Police Complaints Commission must also supervise the formal investigation of a complaint if it relates to the conduct of a senior-ranking police officer.  

Pictured: The President of the Committee for Home Affairs, Deputy Rob Prow, and his colleagues on the Committee are appointing a senior officer from a UK police force to investigate the complaint made by Rob Curgenven and Lucia Pirito. 

“Pending completion of an investigation, it is important that the identity of any police officer under investigation is not made public, not least to protect the integrity of the independent investigation.

“A second complaint arising from the same matter has been received from the same complainant against another senior-ranking officer. This further complaint is currently being assessed.”

Express asked the couple why they wanted to publicise their story.

Ms Pirito said: "I think we chose to do this so something changes in the future - so no other member of the public has to go through what we went through to try and complain."