Police apology over handling of female officers’ abuse complaints
A POLICE force has apologised to two women whose reports of domestic abuse at the hands of an officer were ignored.
Gwent Police issued a statement yesterday saying it is “extremely sorry” for failing to properly investigate allegations of abuse made by both women, and claiming to have now “taken the actions needed to get this right in future”.
The women, known as Jodie and Sarah, were serving officers when the abuse by the now former PC Clarke Joslyn happened and said they were left feeling “worthless” and “broken” by the “negligence of Gwent Police and its boys’ club culture”.
Joslyn had been involved in training the women and is said to have used his seniority to have groomed them into having a relationship with him.
Both were then subjected to domestic abuse and eventually reported him.
However, their allegations were not taken seriously and they were instead targeted by Joslyn’s colleagues.
It later emerged that several other women had been victimised by Joslyn over a period of years while he remained a serving officer with access to young female trainees.
Misconduct proceedings were brought against him in 2018. But Joslyn quit the force shortly before a panel found his actions amounted to gross misconduct.
The two women made a civil claim against Gwent Police as part of a national police super-complaint on police-perpetrated abuse being brought by the Centre for Women’s Justice. The case has led to more than 155 women coming forward who allege to have suffered similar experiences.
Jodie said: “It took all of my strength and courage for me to report these crimes back in 2012.
“My aim all the way through this was to bring a domestic violence perpetrator to justice and prevent anybody else going through what I did. Sadly this was not the case due to the negligence of Gwent Police and its boys’ club culture.”
Sarah said she “lost everything” after she reported Joslyn.
“My reputation, my health, and ultimately my career in the police,” she said.
Gwent Police Deputy Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman met with the two women in person to issue the apology, and in a statement said: “I am extremely sorry that at a time when they felt most in need of our support that we let them down.
“We have listened, reflected and taken the actions needed to get this right in future. This is to make sure that if anyone within the force, or a member of the public, raises any concerns about the conduct of officers or staff that they can be confident of being heard and having the issues they raise investigated thoroughly. In the current climate this is critical to maintaining confidence in our services.”
She said all cases involving officers where there is an abuse of a position of trust are reported to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) for consideration of whether an independent investigation is required.