Friday brief: Northants police officers who advocated violence towards women and children lose jobs
Plus some news from around the county
Two Northants police officers have lost their jobs after WhatsApp messages in which they advocated violence towards women and children were exposed.
Police constables Thomas Lightfoot and Robert Rowland shared vile WhatsApp messages between them over a four year period beginning in 2018 that were derogatory about colleagues and members of the public and Lightfoot filmed himself masturbating in two police stations on several occasions between April and May last year.
At a misconduct hearing chaired by interim chief constable Ivan Balhatchet today PC Lightfoot was dismissed for gross misconduct and Rowland, who won Northants response officer of the year in 2021, would have been dismissed if he had not resigned a day earlier.
In his statement Ivan Balhatchet said he was disgusted with the behaviour of the pair.
He said:
“These officers are a total disgrace to the public of Northamptonshire, this Force and the wider police service. As I have stated before, I will continue to take the strongest possible action to root out people like these officers, who should be nowhere near the police service. The public, and honourable, decent police officers who work hard through their whole careers to serve the public, deserve no less. The officers’ conduct is entirely incompatible with continuing to serve. I have no hesitation in dismissing PC Lightfoot without notice and finding former PC Rowland would have been dismissed.”
Messages between the pair had even advocated stalking, violence and had been racially offensive.
It is another bruising episode from Northants Police, which last year saw its chief constable dismissed for lying.
Speaking after the hearing, deputy chief Constable Ash Tuckley said:
“When these allegations of gross misconduct came to light, the Force moved quickly to hold an accelerated misconduct hearing to ensure they are both removed from policing.
“Their appalling conduct is another depressing blow to the overwhelming majority of hard-working officers in Northamptonshire Police whose primary purpose is to protect the communities they serve.
“Once again, we have taken steps to root out people who have no place in the police service and our zero-tolerance of these types of behaviours remains as solid as ever.“Our professional standards department, now one of the biggest in terms of the size of our Force, has increased in size in the past year and we have brought in a number of very experienced detectives whose job it is to tackle police-perpetrated crime.
“Within Force we have further tightened our vetting processes and improved reporting channels who want to disclose misconduct issues and we continue to urge staff to come forward if they have concerns in this respect.
“Building the trust and confidence of the public in policing is absolutely imperative as is our unrelenting determination to improve culture and we will continue to go above and beyond in our resolve to do that.”
News in brief
More than 2,000 homes were given the green light to be built across Northamptonshire in major housing projects in 2024. The homes are due to be built across seven towns and villages in the county and many make up detailed plans for large sustainable urban extensions to Northants towns.
Over the entire year, West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) said yes to building 2,282 homes and flats, just in large planning applications concerning parcels of more than 50 properties. The councils will also have approved more housing sites within the county in smaller applications.
Developments include 525 homes at Hampton Green, which is part of the development near Brackmills close to Newport Pagnell Road; 110 homes in Towcester by developers Pomfret Management Ltd; 150 flats by Glenrowan Homes in Corby and more than 70 homes in Rushden by Amberville Properties Ltd.
Report by Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
A vocal critic of Northamptonshire Police, Simon Tilley, is in prison after being charged with online stalking and harassment of officers.
Tilley, 44, was refused bail when he appeared at Northampton Magistrates Court on Christmas Eve after taking himself voluntarily to a police station on December 23. He had previously been interviewed under caution in November in relation to comments he had published on a blog. The charges relate to two serving police officers and one former officer. He is also charged with three offences of perverting the course of justice between March and December 2023.
Tilley, who is an auditor and lives in Northampton, will appear at Northampton Crown Court on February 11 to enter a plea.
Plans to convert a Rothwell home into a 14-person house in multiple occupation (HMO) have been passed through at appeal. A planning inspector has also ruled that the Northamptonshire council created ‘unnecessary’ delays and should cover costs for the proceedings.
Under the application, Westview house, on the corner of Kettering Road, will be converted to provide seven en-suite bedrooms with up to two occupants in each. The applicant, Eckland Lodge Business Park Ltd, also intends to add a new two-storey building behind the existing house to make enough space for all of the proposed tenants.
The HMO proposals went to the council’s planning committee in March 2024. Members decided to defer their decision on the home conversion so they could visit the site and consider the plans thoroughly.
During the meeting, councillors were warned by legal advisers that if the application wasn’t determined, there was a risk that the applicant could launch a planning appeal against the council for non-determination. They were also informed that this could include a claim for an ‘award of costs’.
The planning inspectorate report says the site visit did not take place before an appeal was submitted. Addressing the highway safety and living condition concerns raised during the debate, the inspector ultimately ruled that proposed changes would not have a ‘harmful effect’ on future tenants or existing neighbours.
Weighing up the appellant’s entitlement for reimbursement, the inspector wrote: “The delays caused by the Council were unnecessary and led to a subsequent appeal, which could have been avoided. On this basis, I conclude that unreasonable behaviour on behalf of the Council is demonstrated and as a result, the appellant has incurred wasted and unnecessary expense in preparing the appeal.”
Report by Nadia Lincoln
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“Building the trust and confidence of the public in policing is absolutely imperative as is our unrelenting determination to improve culture and we will continue to go above and beyond in our resolve to do that". This is what Interim Chief constable Balhatchet says.
Nick Adderley was appointed in 2016. Between 2018 and 2024 two police officers did those "vile" crimes as stated by the now Interim Chief constable.
And yet, In 2021 one of those officers were given an award.
That's right an award!
So how should I react when the Police decided in their wisdom to place in custody in Christmas eve until February 2025, an Auditor Simon Tilley? He investigated and reported Nick Adderley crimes for lying to the IOPC. If it was not for his investigative works supported always with concrete evidences, Nick Adderley would still be at the Northamptonshire Headquarters. How can you build trust with the Public after this? How many others corrupt officers are still there I wonder? For those who are genuinely honest hard working Police Officers it must be hell for them to work under these conditions. These two corrupted officers, were all under the management of Nick Adderley and thereafter under the now Interim Chief constable. Actions has only been taken because of Simon Tilley tenacity in revelling the truth and now he is being punish for it. That is disgusting and repugnant. What do you think?
Regarding housing, how does this compare to the target set by the government.