Merseyside Police concluded an internal investigation into the misuse of the Force email system by its staff in March 2005.
The inquiry was launched by Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe in October 2004, after an inappropriate image was forwarded by a member of staff to a friend in another organisation via the internet.
The Professional Standards Department of Merseyside Police launched a wide-ranging investigation into inappropriate e-mails on the force I.T. network, one of the largest internal inquiries ever undertaken by the Force. Nearly one million e-mails were audited during the investigation.
Over 500 police officers and members of staff in total have been affected by the investigation, which has seen four police officers and three support staff appear before disciplinary hearings, receiving punishments ranging from warnings to fines.
Disciplinary action
Merseyside Police sought the assistance of the Trade Unions, Police Federation, Staff Associations and Black Police Association for the investigation. In addition, the inquiry was voluntarily referred to, and overseen by, the Independent Police Complaints Commission who agreed subsequent disciplinary action.
The investigation audited every e-mail attachment on the force system, finding 90 per cent of these attachments to be appropriate and directly linked to police business. The remaining 10 per cent were deemed inappropriate with games, jokes and novelties making up the bulk of these attachments. A small number of the inappropriate e-mails in the remaining 10 per cent were found to be of a sexual nature, with a portion of these deemed to be grossly offensive, homophobic or racist.
All inappropriate material has now been removed from the Force systems and more effective firewalls and auditing procedures are in place. With regards to action taken against staff, the outcome is:
- Four police officers and three support staff appeared before disciplinary hearings and received punishments ranging from written warnings to fines, the highest of which was three days' pay (around £360).
- Six police officers received official written warnings from a Superintendent
31 staff received letters of advice personally delivered by an Assistant Chief Constable
- 383 police officers and 74 support staff received letters of advice from an Assistant Chief Constable, delivered by their Area Commanders or departmental Head
Unique investigation
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "The investigation has been unique, mainly as our Professional Standards department has sought to ensure there was a fair and equal sanction for both police support staff and officers, who at present have different disciplinary processes. This has been no easy task, and it's true to say that the investigation has been a cultural watershed for the Force in terms of its internal impact, laying out very clearly what is expected of our staff.
"What was extremely apparent from the outset was that this was an absolutely vital inquiry, and one which should therefore be conducted in the public domain. All members of Merseyside Police staff know there is absolutely no place in this organisation for this kind of material.
"Merseyside Police is not alone in facing this type of problem. Any large organisation that allows access to the internet for legitimate reasons can find itself in a similar position where some staff will distribute material that others find offensive, but which they believe is only being communicated to a small circle of friends or colleagues.
"We have new policies in place to prevent this kind of behaviour in the future, and all staff are now aware that anyone breaching the e-mail policy will face the severest of penalties. We continue to expect the very best in professional behaviour from all of our staff, and know that they will support us in this as part of their job to provide the best possible service to the public of Merseyside."