Scandal-hit police force begs for emergency Government funding to cover the salaries of THREE chief constables at the same time - after two were suspended
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A scandal-hit police force has begged for emergency Government funding to cover the salaries of three chief constables at the same time. Two Devon and Cornwall Police chiefs have been suspended in as many years, and the force wrote to the Home Office last month asking for extra cash.
![[Chief constable Will Kerr (pictured) was suspended last July when an investigation was opened into ‘serious allegations of sexual offences’ in Northern Ireland, which Mr Kerr denies]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/15/20/93174443-14195505-image-a-15_1734295249637.jpg)
The beleaguered force saw its chief constable Will Kerr suspended last July when an investigation was opened into ‘serious allegations of sexual offences’ in Northern Ireland, which Mr Kerr denies. Another disaster struck when his replacement, acting chief constable Jim Colwell, was suspended last month amid a probe from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The watchdog is investigating potential gross misconduct ‘in respect of his use of a work issue mobile phone to exchange messages of a personal nature without a policing purpose’ and ‘alleged conduct concerning a force disciplinary matter’. Both officers remain on a full annual salary of about £180,000 while under investigation.
Former Dorset Police chief James Vaughan has been appointed as new acting chief constable of Devon and Cornwall, so the force is now effectively paying more than half a million pounds a year for its leader. Devon and Cornwall’s police and crime commissioner, Alison Hernandez, has asked for a special grant to cover the costs.
Acting chief constable Jim Colwell (pictured) was suspended last month amid a probe from the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Chief constable Will Kerr (pictured) was suspended last July when an investigation was opened into ‘serious allegations of sexual offences’ in Northern Ireland, which Mr Kerr denies.
