Official complaints reach panel as commissioner comes under fire from all quarters
The commissioner is still in post but will not be standing for re-election
By Sarah Ward
Apologies - a draft version made it through today. Here is the correct one.
Five official complaints have been sent to the police, fire and crime panel following the sexist slur the county’s commissioner made about the chief fire officer.
The complaints mean that Stephen Mold’s conduct will be scrutinised by the complaints committee, although no date has been set for him to appear before the panel, which is chaired by fellow tory Cllr David Smith.
Last week, after NN Journal’s exclusive reporting of the derogatory comments he made about incoming fire boss Nikki Watson, Stephen Mold made the announcement he would stand down as the Conservative candidate in the May police, fire and crime commissioner elections.
Since then there have been statements made from both national and local organisations about the offence caused to police and fire staff and women in general, by his calling Nikki Watson a ‘bitch’ when in a private meeting with fire staff at Moulton station on March 1.
He admitted making a ‘significant mistake’ and apologised, but many have said the apology does not cut it.
On Tuesday the Northants Police Federation, which represents staff, released a statement to say Stephen Mold’s comments had tarnished the force.
He said:
“As Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Mr Mold – through the Chief Constable – sits over the conduct and performance proceedings for police officers and staff.
“Police officers and staff are quite rightly held to the highest standards of behaviour and performance as servants of the Crown, serving and protecting their communities.
“So, at a time when police officers and the police service itself are under the spotlight due to the misogynistic culture identified by Dame Eilish Angiolini’s report just a few weeks ago, it is clearly totally unacceptable, and abhorrent, that the person at the very top of our organisation has made such disgusting comments about a woman and, while the PCC says this was a ‘significant mistake’, I think it goes beyond that.
“These comments have damaged the reputation of the Force, tarnishing the organisation as a whole but also everyone who works within it. The effects of this will be far-reaching. He had a key role to play in restoring confidence and trust in policing at a time when the service is facing unprecedented challenges and instead he further damaged the public’s perception of standards within the police service.
“On his own website, Mr Mold states that it is important for public sector agencies to make the county safe but that things should also be done in the right way. I would suggest that his actions demonstrate that he has not adhered to the standards he has set for others.”
The interim fire and police chiefs Ivan Balhatchet and Simon Tuhill have also made public statements, condemning the words of the commissioner and talking of the upset it has caused for staff.
Stephen Mold will continue in the role until the election and keep drawing his salary. NN Journal understands he has continued to go into his office at Darby House, Wellingborough, although he has been told to stay away from the series of misogyny seminars that had already been planned to take place this week. These had been set up following the recent report from the Anglioni enquiry commissioned after the Sarah Everard murder which recommended that every police force should commit publicly to being an antisexist, anti-misogynistic, anti-racist and ‘properly addressing’ sexist banter.
The Conservatives now have to pick a new candidate for the upcoming elections and a meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow evening, where members will vote on Zoom. The final candidates will have been whittled down to a shortlist by the area committee for Northamptonshire conservatives.
Is it me, or does anyone else think it strange that so many organisations and individuals waited until Mold confirmed that he would not be seeking reelection, before coming out of the woodwork to say what a nasty man Mold is. I can think of no reason why the Police Federation, for example, did not speak out earlier. The many female police officers in the county surely must have wondered what on earth was going on.
I also think that the time has come for change in the way the police, fire and crime panel is made up. At the moment the panel is made up of councillors from the two main parties, with the Tories having more seats, and 3 independent members. In my opinion the panel is there to serve the whole population of the county, not just one section which happened to gain more seats at the last local government elections. If the panel had been more politically impartial, I believe Mold would have not got away with his disgraceful behaviour for as long as he did. The panel should be more like a board of directors and have the power to remove the PFCC at any time during his term if he fails to perform to expected standards and call for a new election to be held . This board should consist of an equal number of councillors from the two main parties, one councillor from the 3rd placed party and 2 voluntary independent members, 11 in total. All panel members should vote in the chair and deputy chair from a list of nominees who have put their name forward.
Something like the above would be far better for democracy in Northamptonshire.
Thank you Anita, I just thought that instead of just celebrating Mold’s demise, we should think about how to improve processes that might improve the whole future of the county.