Investigation into ‘serious criminal allegation’ against Cleveland PCC discontinued

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed it has written to Cleveland’s Police and Crime Panel today (May 23) to inform it that the investigation into Steve Turner following “a serious criminal allegation against him” has been closed.

Mr Turner denied any wrongdoing when the allegations came to light late last year and said he only became aware of it when he was contacted by the IOPC.

The IOPC said it had received a mandatory conduct referral from the panel in November last year relating to an allegation of a serious non-recent sexual offence, made through a third party.

“After assessing the information in the referral, we determined the evidence met the threshold for an investigation to be necessary, namely that there was an indication a criminal offence may have been committed,” it added.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary conducted a managed investigation into the allegations under the direction and control of the IOPC and the investigating officer has now followed-up all available lines of inquiry.

“This has led to our decision to discontinue the investigation,” said the IOPC.

Mr Turner was not arrested and there was no requirement for him to be interviewed.

IOPC Director of Major Investigations Steve Noonan said: “We are satisfied all reasonable efforts to progress this investigation have been made and that no further lines of inquiry remain open at this time.

“Any serious allegation of this nature requires careful investigation, and it was important that there was independent oversight in this case.

“I would like to thank Avon and Somerset Police for their professionalism throughout this inquiry.”

In response to the IOPC’s decision, Lisa Oldroyd, chief executive of the Office of the PCC, said: “We have been made aware that the IOPC-managed investigation into a third party allegation against the conduct of PCC Steve Turner has been discontinued, after no further lines of inquiry were identified.

“I would like to thank the commissioner’s team for their continued professionalism and commitment during this difficult period.

“The PCC’s vision has always been clear – that Cleveland residents should have an efficient and effective police force to protect vulnerable people and bring offenders to justice.

“To that end, we will continue to work alongside Steve to deliver his three-year Police and Crime Plan to make Cleveland a safer place and put the pride back into Cleveland Police.”

She added that Mr Turner “planned to issue his own statement in due course and this is likely to appear on his personal Facebook page”.

In December last year, the IOPC dropped four complaints about the conduct of Mr Turner after it failed to find “sufficient indication that any criminal offences may have taken place”.

The four allegations related to an alleged assault in 2019; allegedly providing inaccurate information to the media; and two complaints from the same individual regarding alleged data protection breaches.