By James Simons-
A police officer who took bribes from licenced premises in the West End, including tickets to exclusive events, a family holiday to Morocco and renovations to his home, has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.
Frank Partridge, 50, (pictured)who was formerly of the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) Westminster Licensing Unit, previously pleaded guilty to three charges of bribery and was convicted of four further charges of bribery following a 12-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.
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A three-month trial explored how Partridge, between 2013 and 2015, developed inappropriate relationships with business owners and security bosses while having an influential say in their licensing conditions
The dodgy cop was under surveillance in 2014 when he and Neil visited Clerkenwell Collection Tailors, and Partridge came away with a £1,350 bespoke suit and six made-to-measure shirts. Partridge will be sentenced on 18 July, while his co-defendants will be sentenced on 21 September.
Ex-Sergeant Frank Partridge, 49, received tickets for a Metallica gig, he was wined and dined by those he was meant to be policing, received a tailored suit and shirts, and was even handed a £7,000 family holiday.
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Partridge held a key role at the time he received the bribes, as he was in charge of the Met’s Westminster licensing unit and was responsible for monitoring safety at some of London’s top nightspots.
Another four people had also been found guilty of bribery.
The MPS said the convictions had followed “a complex anti-corruption investigation”.
Jurors found he accepted a £7,000 luxury family holiday to Morocco, house renovations and tickets to exclusive events between 2013 and 2015.
Commander James Harman said the force now runs licensing units differently.
Partridge was cleared of a further count of bribery and admitted three others at an earlier stage in the case.
Sentencing Partridge at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Christopher Hehir told him: “The story behind these verdicts is a troubling, disappointing and also in parts a sleazy one.
“While there is some evidence of you performing your duties efficiently and effectively, that sadly pales into insignificance when set against the other evidence in the trial, which revealed a rapid descent into wholesale corruption, dishonesty and complete disregard of your obligations as a police officer.”
The trial heard Partridge accepted money and gifts to make favourable recommendations about licenced premises to Westminster Licensing Unit, run by the local authority, influencing licensing hearings and protecting venues from enforcement activity.
The MPS said the way it now runs its licensing units has been transformed and many changes put in place to minimise the chance of this ever happening again.
Partridge was dismissed from the force in April 2016.
Commander James Harman said: ”This has been a complex and long-running investigation that began in 2013 and has involved the painstaking examination of thousands of files on 178 digital devices plus huge volumes of paper records to piece the case together. I commend the diligent work of colleagues in our Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command.
“Partridge’s job was to consult with the local authority about licensing applications and supervise licensed premises to make sure they were complying with their conditions.
“But he developed unprofessional and inappropriately close relationships with people who owned, ran or were linked to those premises as well as with firms providing security to the venues.
“These matters happened almost a decade ago and how we run licensing units in the Met is now very different. Once we identified Partridge’s activities, we acted quickly to introduce measures to ensure no one officer can abuse their position of power in the way he did.
“This case is a clear example of the robust approach we take to corruption. Where a crime has been committed we will investigate and bring it before the courts, dealing not just with our own, but also with those who seek to influence and corrupt our officers and staff.”
The convicted co-defendants are due to be sentenced on September 21.
effrey, senior specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said: “As a police sergeant in the Westminster Licensing Unit, Frank Partridge had a central role in ensuring that venues and businesses operating in the West End of London did so within the terms of their license and were meeting licensing objectives to reduce crime and maintain public safety.
“It was clearly wrong and unlawful for someone in his position to receive financial and other advantages from those who owned, operated or were linked to such premises, and against whom he had a duty to take direct enforcement action if required.
“Partridge was nevertheless the recipient of significant bribes and developed and nurtured relationships for his own benefit – and in turn for the benefits of others.
“As a police officer, Partridge abused his position of power by cultivating unprofessional and inappropriately close relationships with a small number of individuals involved in providing entertainment and security at the venues he was charged with policing.
“He was found to have performed his professional duties improperly for the benefit of those individuals, in a manner that was incompatible with his position as a police officer, and for which he was rewarded with hospitality at exclusive events and high-end venues, bespoke clothing, a family holiday and house renovations as a result.”
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