By Sheila Mckenzie
A former police crime commissioner, Jason Ablewhite has been cleared of misconduct after quitting the £85,000 a year role in November, four days after he had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to a complaint about messages he had sent on social media, has been put in the all clear.
The former crime commissioner resigned last November as a result of the complaint which accused him of sending an explicit message to a 50 year old woman on facebook. He was cleared on the grounds that the woman allegedly encouraged him to send the explicit images. Cambridgeshire Police have said they will appeal the decision. Cambridgeshire olice say they will appeal the decision.
Ablewhite has declined to comment publicly about his acquittal. He has also quit as a district councillor in Huntingdon. He was replaced as crime chief by Peterborough city councillor and former Serviceman Ray Bisby.
However, the IOPC confirmed today: “We can confirm that the Crown Prosecution Service has decided to take no further action after we submitted a file of evidence from our investigation into a complaint against the former Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire.
“We have now informed all interested parties of the decision. The complainant now has the option to exercise their Right to Review the decision.
“It would not be appropriate to comment further until the process is complete.”
A Cambridgeshire police spokeswoman said the decision not to prosecute has been appealed.She said: “We are aware that a decision was made by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to take no further action in relation to the investigation carried out by the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) following a complaint made against the former Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire.
“We understand that all parties involved have been notified of this decision and that the complainant has decided to exercise the ‘Victim’s Right to Review’ the decision made by the CPS.“It would therefore be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
When a police force announces plans to appeal the decision of its regulatory body taken in favour of one of its officers, we know something serious is up. Cambridgeshire police are not willing to let the matter rest and clearly believe the former police commissioner acted inappropriately. They want to see a decision reflect that judgement., which looks bad for the police Commissioner in the meantime.