THE Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Wiltshire has slammed the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) for the delay in reporting the outcome of the investigation into outgoing Chief Constable Patrick Geenty and two other officers.

The complaints related to the way in which two earlier complaints about the way the Force handled allegations of sexual abuse were dealt with.

PCC Angus Macpherson had been told to expect the report, which was launched in September, by mid-May but delays mean it will now not be heard until some time in June.

Mr Geenty had hoped to retire at the end of May but is committed to not leaving the force until the investigation reaches a conclusion and will now take four weeks unpaid leave.

Mr Macpherson said: “I was assured that I would receive the report by the middle of May. Then I was told I would have a briefing on the report in week commencing May 26.

"But on May 26 the IPCC contacted my office to say the report was still not complete. I expected the IPCC to report in a timely manner and it is disappointing, to say the least, that I am still awaiting that report.

“I have no more information from the IPCC now than I had nearly ten months ago when the investigation began, and neither have the complainants nor the officers involved.

“I do feel for the families in this case. They complained about the service they received from Wiltshire Police, but they have still not had a resolution because of the time the IPCC has taken to investigate and report back to me.

"I am pressing the IPCC to bring this to a conclusion."

Yet the IPCC hit back saying they had "regularly updated and provided information" to the commissioner throughout the investigation.

A spokesperson for the IPCC said: "Although we hoped to complete our report by the end of May, no assurances were provided that the report would be completed at that time.

"It is important that due process is followed to ensure fairness to both the complainants and the officers under investigation. The investigation is complete and the report is being compiled."

If the report is not delivered before Mr Geenty retires on June 28, Mr Geenty has assured the Commissioner he will answer any outstanding questions that need to be asked of him when the IPCC report is finally concluded.

Mr Geenty said: “I have said that it has been my wish to stay in office until the conclusion of this investigation.

"It had been indicated to me that the IPCC investigation and report would be concluded by the end of May.

“As a result of the further delay in the delivery of the IPCC report to the Commissioner, I believe that postponing my retirement by four weeks is the right thing to do.

“I know this is what the complainants expect of me and I want to honour the commitment that I have given. So I have made the decision to take four weeks unpaid leave. This means that the date on which I will now retire is Sunday, June 28.”

Mike Veale will still take up his post as Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police on Monday as planned.