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Six policemen could be fired after being searched making “abominable” and inappropriate comments in a specialized “toxic” police unit.
All six members of the Hampshire Serious Organized Crimes Unit office in Basingstoke were found to have violated professional standards.
They are retired Detective Inspector Tim Ireson, Detective Sergeant Oliver Lage, Detective Sergeant Gregory Willcox, former PC Craig Bannerman, Detective-in-training Andrew Ferguson and PC James Oldfield.
Mr. Ireson and Det Sgt Willcox were also charged in court with failing to fulfill their supervisory duties to stop or report inappropriate behavior.
The court will consider their punishments on January 4.
Jason Beer QC, who brought the case against the officers, said covert recording devices were installed in the office between March 9 and April 2, 2018, following an anonymous tip.
Beer said: “This was a specialized police unit that enjoyed relative isolation from the rest of the force due to the sensitive and sometimes covert nature of the work it carried out.
“That isolation and lack of leadership from Mr. Ireson and Sergeant Willcox appears to have led to the development of a toxic and abhorrent culture in the unit among some officers.
“[This] it is incompatible with the values and standards of the police service in the 21st century and with continuous service in the police service. “
He added: “It was a unit that was just disgusting showing attitudes towards groups and communities that police officers must protect.”
Recorded comments included claims that the unit’s only black officer had arrived from Africa in a box. In addition, fake “explicit and highly offensive” pornographic images of the royal family were posted on a WhatsApp group at work.
A spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: “The panel has spent several weeks listening to evidence and officers’ presentations to explain their behaviors, before reaching their findings, which have been delivered on a cumulative basis. We will receive a full breakdown of decisions in due time.
“Conduct related to discriminatory comments captured during an undercover recording of the SOCU North office in 2018. Such comments were not questioned or reported.”
They added: “We understand that there is significant interest in this case and our response to this outcome, however, as this remains an active legal process, we will respond fully upon completion of the process.”
