There’s been a lot of talk over the past couple of years around complaints to Guernsey Police about officers’ actions, and the way those complaints are dealt with.
We know that hundreds of thousands of pounds was spent fighting one complainant in court, and money has also been spent in smaller amounts offering compensation to other complainants.
Behind the money though are real people, with real concerns about policing in our community.
A new police complaints system – criticised by some – was introduced last year, and the new Chief Officer seems determined to improve the situation for everyone.
“I will root people out, that shouldn’t be in public service.” – Damian Kitchen, November 2024.
However, one complainant took to TikTok to share her concerns over Guernsey Police – and in particular how sexual offences are investigated and how victims are dealt with – with a potential audience of hundreds of thousands of people watching.
Her story isn’t the first of its kind.
Express is aware of numerous other people who have claimed that Guernsey Police made mistakes in dealing with their cases.
One high profile situation involved a now-married couple who launched a long running complaint against Guernsey Police over the way officers handled a situation inside their home.
The couple claimed an arrest made was unlawful, and their original complaint led to legal action against the individual officers and Guernsey’s then-Chief of Police, Ruari Hardy.
While this matter was originally before the Petty Debts Court, it was elevated to the Royal Court. That meant there would be far higher costs for the complaints to absorb if they lost.
While the couple were representing themselves, Guernsey Police were being represented by Ferbrache & Farrell, a private law firm who the then-Chief Minister acts as a consultant for.
The case rumbled on, before it was decided to offer the couple a £12,000 settlement. This also saw a Tomlin Order issued to stop the ongoing claims and to bring the case to a conclusion.
Just last week there was confirmation that this case is still ruffling feathers for Guernsey Police and the Committee for Home Affairs, when it was confirmed that the former Chief Officer of Police had not lied during a court hearing relating to this couple.
A complaint of perjury was investigated by West Midlands Police and although it cleared Ruari Hardy of lying, the statement that confirmed he had not lied itself came under intense scrutiny when the complainant rightly pointed out that both the Office of the Committee for Home Affairs and West Midlands Police had referenced the wrong complaint.
The Office of the Committee for Home Affairs had to apologise for that, but it maintained that the outcome of the complaint investigation remained the same.
Regardless of the latest faux pas by Home Affairs, the couple had already succeeded in putting the police complaints process firmly in the spotlight, with questions asked in the States chamber last year.
The President of Home Affairs, Deputy Rob Prow said that Bailiwick Law Enforcement would usually seek representation from St James Chambers, but “there are limited circumstances, however, in which external legal assistance may be engaged, such as where particular legal specialism is required, or where St James’ Chambers may not assist for professional reasons”.
In time, it was confirmed that more than £250,000 had been spent defending the officers’ actions when a £12,000 settlement saw the case closed.
That wasn’t the end of the public scrutiny though. In reality, the public scrutiny faced by Guernsey Police and Home Affairs has increased with multiple members of the public sharing their own concerns via social media.
Two videos were published last year showing separate potentially problematic police behaviour, with other videos shared more recently.
The first shared last year showed a man being restrained by several officers in a cell, while the second showed a man being forcefully removed from his vehicle. Both sparked concern and questions from large numbers of people.
More recently, a video was shared via social media showing police officers entering a property against the wishes of the home owner. Other videos have shown similar situations.
The videos have all helped feed public hunger for transparency in how Guernsey Police handle cases particularly those where the officers present deem that restraint is needed while an arrest is carried out.
“Repetitive, vexatious, or unfounded submissions”
While the States are not directly involved in policing matters, the Committee for Home Affairs has political and operational oversight, and it pushed ahead with those plans to restructure the Police Complaints process last year.
The new system is said to have brought it more inline with the UK’s but concerns were raised locally that it would actually protect police officers from complaints.
One aspect of the new system means officers behaviour would directly become an issue for the Chief Police Officer, with that individual legally responsible for the actions of individual officers while they’re on duty.
The restructuring of complaints against Guernsey Police, meant any lodged would also now need to overcome an initial barrier which could filter out complaints.
Home Affairs advocated for this saying it would reduce the number of “repetitive, vexatious, or unfounded submissions”.
The Committee had previously laid the blame for any slow process with complaints on a “flooding” of repeat complaints which the new process would also stop, it said.
Deputy Prow added that the new process would “move us away from the necessity to hire private law firms to represent officers at a cost borne by government”.
Deputy Prow’s colleagues instructed him to carry out a full review in December, some four months after the new rules had been brought in by Home Affairs.
In that time period, 14 complaints had been lodged against Guernsey Police.
Deputy Prow said none of those 14 complaints lodged against Guernsey Police since the new system was introduced had been dismissed using the new process.
He said this proved that the new policy was not being used to simply dismiss complaints against police.
While Guernsey Police remains under the spotlight over how its officers have previously acted and how complaints are handled, the new Chief Officer has already acted on his promises to work with the community.
Damian Kitchen was appointed as the new Head of Bailiwick Law Enforcement in 2024, and he said he was well aware of the complaints facing Guernsey Police when he arrived in the island.
He made a promise that he would “go in hard and robust on anyone who should not be in the police service”.
“I will root people out, that shouldn’t be in public service,” he said. “It allows me to get the professional standards staff to focus on the people I want to root out.
“The public and the politicians in Guernsey have to put their trust in me, as the head of the force, and my values, and my leadership, to do the right thing. Now, I will work within whatever legal framework is delivered or given to me.
“Ultimately, we want those people that shouldn’t be in the police, not to be in the police. So that’s my commitment, which I’ve demonstrated throughout my career. That I will go in hard and robust on anyone who should not be in the police service.”
So far, CO Kitchen appears to have stuck to his word, with a tribunal in January proceeding even though the officer had already quit his job. The panel still found the officer guilty of mis-conduct and steps were taken to ensure he can’t work for any other police force in the future.
“I am entirely certain that had this officer still been serving he would have been dismissed without notice,” said Chief Officer Kitchen at the time.
“We are also now taking steps to ensure he is included on the United Kingdom Police ‘Barred Officers’ list which protects police officers and staff in that he can never work in policing in any capacity again. It is vital that we maintain public confidence in the force, and public confidence cannot be upheld by allowing individuals who behave in such a way to work in policing.”
Other evidence of CO Kitchen being determined to improve public trust in his officers was seen on Friday when Guernsey Police held a community meeting.
The force also recently carried out a survey to gauge feedback on their work.
These are all signs that the broken trust between some members of the public and Guernsey Police has been recognised and work is ongoing to make amends.
Deputy Prow and others, including CO Kitchen, appear to truly believe the new complaints system will ensure genuine grievances are dealt with correctly.
But, the confidence and trust that members of the public put in Guernsey Police appears to remain on a knife edge.