THE former chief constable of Wiltshire Police may escape misconduct charges over the way he handled complaints relating to allegations of sexual abuse after a decision to allow him to retire.

Police and crime commissioner (PCC) Angus Macpherson said in a statement it was "not my intention to prevent [Pat] Geenty from retiring [on Sunday]”.

Misconduct charges can only be brought against serving officers, not those who have left the force, and Mr Geenty is set to retire on June 28 just days after an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report on the matter was handed to Mr Macpherson.

Mr Macpherson, who earns £70,000 a year, said he needed to "take time to read the report" from the IPCC, which "identified that Mr Geenty has a potential case to answer for misconduct".

The 140-page report was delivered to him yesterday (Thursday) and has not been released to the public.

Under current rules, only the commissioner can bring charges against a chief constable.

It is alleged that Mr Geenty and two other officers withheld information from complainants about the extent of the force's failings in dealing with sexual abuse claims. The IPCC finding that the case potentially facing the former chief constable could amount only to the lesser misconduct charge as opposed to gross misconduct would mean that it was not a sackable offence if proved. As such therefore Mr Geenty's retirement is at the discretion of the commissioner.

Mr Geenty has been on unpaid leave since he stepped down as chief constable in May. When the allegations were first made the then police chief said he was "shocked" by them and welcomed an "open and transparent investigation".

The Journal tried to contact Mr Macpherson at his office this afternoon but was told he would not be commenting further.

We then put it to the police that Mr Geenty might well escape disciplinary action if his retirement went ahead and before Mr Macpherson could take a view.

We were told the question needed to be put in writing then it would be passed to the commissioner. However there was no call back and when we tried to follow up the phone call there was no answer.

Efforts to contact Mr Macpherson on his home and mobile numbers also failed.

  •  The Home Office regulations, which came into force in January, stops police officers from resigning or retiring if they are subject to an allegation that could lead to dismissal.

Officers are being prevented from resigning or retiring until any case has concluded or has found that the officer will not face a dismissal hearing.

From December 1 2013 to August 1 2014, 144 officers resigned or retired whilst subject to a gross misconduct investigation, preventing them from being held to account for their actions.

A chief officer or Police and Crime Commissioner are able to consent to an officer’s resignation or retirement if they are deemed medically unfit or in other exceptional circumstances, for example where a covert criminal investigation could be prejudiced.

These regulations aim to ensure that officers are held to account for their actions, that the truth can be established, that victims of police misconduct and their families are provided justice and that the police learn the full lessons of each incidence of serious misconduct.

At the time Home Secretary Theresa May said: "Direct damage has been done to public confidence by cases in which officers escaped justice by resigning or retiring where they might have been dismissed.

"The public rightly expects police officers to act with the highest standards of integrity and for those suspected of misconduct to be subject to formal disciplinary proceedings.

"The ability of officers to avoid potential dismissal by resigning or retiring is an unacceptable situation. That is why I have introduced these reforms to ensure victims and their families are not denied the truth of police misconduct."