Date set for alleged Planning misconduct report

Wednesday 15 September 2021

A three-year UK investigation into alleged misconduct in Jersey's Planning Department is due to present its findings to Jersey police by the end of the year.

Home Affairs Minister 
Deputy Gregory Guida has said he understands that the investigation has now drawn to a close, and that Norfolk police are now working on writing their report.

The investigation began in September 2018, where Norfolk Police officers - brought in to avoid any conflicts of interest within Jersey's own police - were tasked with reviewing accusations of foul play within the department responsible for approving planning applications and building regulation.

Pictured: Home Affairs Minister Deputy Gregory Guida said that Norfolk Police had indicated a final report will be with Jersey Police by the end of 2021.

As of March this year, the investigation had cost the island £41,000.

Speaking in the States Assembly yesterday, Deputy Guida said that "Norfolk Police have indicated that the States of Jersey Police should receive a final update on the outcome of their investigation by the end of 2021."

When asked whether the report will be made public, he said that "should the final report recommend consideration of charges, any report would be sub-judice until court proceedings are concluded.

"Should no criminal charges be recommended, consideration will be given to publishing a redacted version of any report, in line with requirements of the Data Protection Law Jersey 2018."

Pictured: Norfolk Police were brought in to investigate the allegations as a way of avoiding any conflicts of interest within Jersey Police.

He emphasised however that he had little knowledge on the intricacies of the procedure, saying "the Minister has very, very little involvement in ongoing investigations, I think it should have many safeties in place to make sure that there is no intervention in the day to day work of the police..."

He was further asked by Senator Kristina Moore about the investigation's status, and whether he was concerned that "that some individuals have submitted to the report over two and a half years ago and have yet to receive acknowledgement or even an interview."

In response, he said: "as I understand it, the investigation itself was finished a few months ago, and it's all about writing the report and finalising it, and we are very very close to that."

As of March, no prosecutions had been made since the investigation launched, and it has never been made clear which laws are alleged to have been broken.

Pictured: Norfolk Police have indicated their investigation has drawn to a close, and they are now writing their report, according to the Home Affairs Minister.

Speaking on a separate topic in yesterday's States Assembly too, Deputy Guida gave an update on legislation to change the way in which complaints are investigated within the States of Jersey Police, saying it is expected to be submitted by the end of the year.

"Work on the modernisation of the management of police complaints was posed during the initial response to the coronavirus pandemic, and began again earlier this year," he said.

"Consultation with key stakeholders has yielded several proposals for amendments to process for managing complaints which together would have the effect of moving the process of decision making around complex finalisation further towards the Jersey Police Complaints Authority.

"Officials are currently working with the legislative drafting office to bring those proposals into law.

"I expect the final legislation, which will consist of amendments to both regulations and primary law, will be lodged before the end of 2021."