Caroline Henry: How are police bosses held to account?

Nottinghamshire's police and crime commissioner Caroline Henry has been fined and banned from driving after being caught speeding five times in 12 weeks.

Calls have been made for her to resign, but Mrs Henry says she remains "committed" to serving the county. So how are police and crime commissioners held to account?

PCCs are elected officials with responsibility for holding police forces to account.

Unlike chief constables - who are the chief police officers of forces - they do not need any previous experience in policing. In fact, police officers are ineligible to stand for election as a PCC.

PCCs set the police and crime objectives for their area through what is known as a police and crime plan. They also set the force budget and set the police precept, which is what residents pay for policing through their council tax.

PCCs are relatively new, as the first were elected in November 2012. Before this, police forces were overseen by police authorities.

Mrs Henry was caught breaking the speed limit five times, all on 30mph (48km/h) roads, including outside a school.

The offences she admitted were as follows:

She was fined £2,450 and banned from driving for six months.

Police and crime commissioners were introduced under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

Under the legislation, a person is disqualified from being a PCC if they are convicted of any imprisonable offence, whether or not they go to prison.

However, speeding is not an imprisonable offence, so Mrs Henry cannot be sacked.

Also under the legislation, a person is disqualified from being elected as a PCC if they have previously been convicted of an imprisonable offence.

Jonathon Seed was elected to become Wiltshire's PCC in May 2021, but could not take up the job because of a 30-year-old conviction for drink-driving, which is an imprisonable offence.

It then emerged he also had a conviction for failing to stop, which is also an imprisonable offence.

Mr Seed was charged with making a false declaration in nomination papers, but the CPS later dropped the charge.

Mr Seed maintained he had been upfront about his convictions with the Conservative Party, and did not realise this disqualified him from being elected.

Tackling speeding was one of Mrs Henry's priorities in her police and crime plan. She wrote that it was among the issues "that we know are causing the greatest harm and concern to our communities".

Speaking outside Nottingham Magistrates' Court after she was sentenced, Mrs Henry told journalists she was "truly sorry" for speeding.

"Quite properly, I have been fined and banned from driving for six months," she said. "I remain committed to serving the people of Nottinghamshire as police and crime commissioner."

Mrs Henry has declined interview requests from the BBC. However, in an interview with Nottinghamshire Live, she said she was "under very significant pressure" and cited family issues.

However, District Judge Leo Pyle, who sentenced Mrs Henry, said she had not explained to the court why she was speeding.

"What they [the offences] show is that you are driving at consistent speeds above the speed limits," he said.

"What I haven't been told is why.

"Whether that was due to work or during your private time, you must allow time to get to your destination safely."

Lilian Greenwood, Labour MP for Nottingham South, shared a petition on Twitter calling for Mrs Henry to go.

In a Twitter post, she wrote: "It's outrageous that Nottinghamshire's Police & Crime Commissioner - who was elected promising to tackle speeding on our roads - broke the law five times in 12 weeks, including twice near a primary school. The public deserve better - it's untenable for her to continue in her role."

Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, told the BBC: "I was very sorry to hear about her personal circumstances... on the separate matter of her role as police and crime commissioner, I don't believe that she any longer has the support of local MPs or residents to continue in that role."

Mrs Henry's husband, Darren Henry, is the Conservative MP for Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire. He has not publicly commented on whether she should continue in her role and declined to comment to the BBC.

The chairman of the Nottinghamshire Police Federation, which represents officers working for the force, said his members had "lost trust and confidence in her ability to perform her role".

"The general feeling is that she should consider her position and resign," Insp Simon Riley said.

"Integrity and professionalism form the very bedrocks of policing and I know that Police Federation members, who would almost certainly find themselves the subject of a misconduct investigation in similar circumstances, have lost trust and confidence in her ability to perform her role as PCC."

As of Thursday, the Nottinghamshire police and crime panel had received 32 complaints in relation to Mrs Henry.

Rob Carlyle, who lives in Bestwood in Nottingham, is among members of the public to have formally complained.

"The least the people of Nottinghamshire expect of their police and crime commissioner is that they obey the very laws they are elected to uphold," he said.

"That Caroline Henry has repeatedly broken the law is shocking. It is further shaming for our county and its police force that this lady has not done the very minimum we have the right to expect and resign immediately."

Police and crime commissioners are scrutinised by police and crime panels.

Members are mainly councillors from within the area of the police force concerned, but at least two independent non-councillor members also have to be appointed.

Several members of the Nottinghamshire panel have told the BBC Mrs Henry should either "consider her position" or resign, but they do not have powers to make her do so.

Vice-chair David Ellis says it is unfortunate there is no mechanism to address what Mrs Henry has done.

"If the commissioner was a local councillor, she would be required under the code of conduct not to do anything which would bring her role or local authority into disrepute," he said.

"This means not doing anything which reduces the public confidence in them being able to fulfil their role."

He believes Mrs Henry "really needs to consider her position".

"I fail to see how Caroline Henry has any credibility with the police and public in Nottinghamshire and how she can deliver her responsibilities overseeing the people enforcing the law when she has admitted to being a prolific lawbreaker herself," he said.

"Five speeding offences over a matter of weeks is a pattern of behaviour."

Panel member Helen-Ann Smith, who is also deputy leader of Ashfield District Council, said: "It's no secret that I like Caroline Henry personally - I find her a very bubbly character. That said, what is clear is that her behaviour has seriously undermined the fight to improve road safety.

"Caroline Henry is becoming a distraction from the business of local policing in the same way Boris has become for national government. It is only right that she looks in the mirror and decides whether she is a fit and appropriate person for the job."

Fellow panel member Linda Woodings, who is also a councillor for Nottingham City Council, added: "I think her position is untenable and she should resign. To commit five speeding offences in such a short space of time is very concerning, especially because several of them were outside city schools.

"Commissioner Henry had tackling speeding as one of her priorities of her election campaign, she also promised to take a zero tolerance approach to crime. Therefore she cannot speak with any authority on this important issue of public safety."

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) normally investigates PCCs when there has been an allegation of criminal wrongdoing. However, it did not investigate Mrs Henry because criminal proceedings had already started by the time they were made aware of her offences.

When the IOPC investigates PCCs, they can pass their evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service so PCCs can potentially be prosecuted. However, they cannot recommended that police forces begin misconduct proceedings against PCCs, as they can with police officers.

The chairman of the Nottinghamshire Police Federation believes regulations need to change so that PCCs are held to account.

"I think it's a huge anomaly that police officers can be held to account 24-7/365, but a police and crime commissioner who is elected to oversee the standards within policing in a force area cannot be held to the same level of accountability," Insp Riley said.

Ultimately, the only way Mrs Henry can be made to leave her role is by voters, that is, if she does not win the next election in May 2024.

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