Commissioner’s position was ‘untenable’ says Federation chair

19 March 2024

The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s position had become untenable before he decided he would not seek re-election in May, according to the chair of Northamptonshire Police Federation.

Stephen Mold admitted to ‘a significant mistake’ that would impact on his ability to steer cultural change within the Force and the Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service in an announcement on Friday.

“This announcement came due to the media scrutiny he was facing both for a number of appointments within his office and for a sexist comment about one of those employees, a woman due to become the chief fire officer,” says Sam Dobbs who chairs the Northamptonshire Police Federation branch.

“As Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Mr Mold – through the Chief Constable – sits over the conduct and performance proceedings for police officers and staff.

“Police officers and staff are quite rightly held to the highest standards of behaviour and performance as servants of the Crown, serving and protecting their communities.

Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Mr Stephen Mold.

“So, at a time when police officers and the police service itself are under the spotlight due to the misogynistic culture identified by Dame Eilish Angiolini’s report just a few weeks ago, it is clearly totally unacceptable, and abhorrent, that the person at the very top of our organisation has made such disgusting comments about a woman and, while the PCC says this was a ‘significant mistake’, I think it goes beyond that.

“These comments have damaged the reputation of the Force, tarnishing the organisation as a whole but also everyone who works within it. The effects of this will be far-reaching. He had a key role to play in restoring confidence and trust in policing at a time when the service is facing unprecedented challenges and instead he further damaged the public’s perception of standards within the police service.

“On his own website, Mr Mold states that it is important for public sector agencies to make the county safe but that things should also be done in the right way. I would suggest that his actions demonstrate that he has not adhered to the standards he has set for others.”

“I firmly believe Mr Mold’s position had become untenable and that he had lost any credibility in terms of leading the Force and holding officers and staff to account. That is why he decided that he would not be able to seek re-election when police and crime commissioner elections are held across England and Wales on 2 May.”

Detective Superintendent Joe Banfield, chair of the Northamptonshire Police Superintendents’ Association, has also welcomed Mr Mold’s decision not to seek re-election.

He said: “The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner failed to understand the extent of the damage and ill-feeling his comments caused. I am glad that he has chosen not to stand for re-election as he no longer has the required mandate to lead either the police or fire service.”

Before Friday’s announcement, Northamptonshire Police Federation had, in an unusual step, joined forces with the Force’s Superintendents’ Association and the UNISON branch which represents police staff, to send a letter to Mr Mold expressing their concerns after receiving ‘quite unprecedented feedback from members’ across the Force.

They detailed three key issues – the comments about the incoming chief fire officer, an email sent to officers and staff from the chief executive of the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner which did little to add to their members’ concerns and Mr Mold’s comments to the latest meeting of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel.

In relation to the comments, the letter states: “You, and your chief executive officer, should be aware of recent misconduct cases where officers have been held to the very highest bar in relation to inappropriate banter or comments in the workplace. While the fact that only one comment was made might mitigate the severity of the matter, your position in our organisation aggravates it, especially given your ownership and condemnation of the very behaviour of which you are accused of. In our view, this is not excusable by the explanations given.”

The letter concludes: “You are seen as top of the tree in terms of police governance, and you represent the Northamptonshire community which elected you. We believe you do not have the credibility to hold our chief officers - and therefore us - to account for the very live and real cultural and misogynist issues faced in the Force and in UK policing.

“This has been the most challenging letter to write, and it is written with regret, but we hope that you will consider and reflect on the very deep damage your outburst has caused, further exacerbated by your response afterwards.”

Echoing the Federation’s stance, branch secretary Charlotte Pateman explained that the Federation is continuing to work with the Force following the implications of the Angiolini report and, as a result, there are several planned events and seminars around misogyny in the workplace.

“We are continuing to work closely with our Acting Chief Constable and the Force to tackle issues surrounding misogyny. I would like to once again reassure our members that we will not tolerate misogyny in any shape, type or form,” said Charlotte.

“I would like to confirm that we have asked Mr Mold not to be involved in any of the upcoming events and seminars we have planned around misogyny. We are carefully and consciously making these decisions for the sake of the public, our members and the wider policing community.”

Representatives from the Federation and the Police Superintendents’ Association, along with Chief Executive of the Police and Fire Crime Commissioner Jonny Bugg were invited to attend a meeting hosted by the Acting Chief Constable to discuss the contents of the letter, on Monday afternoon (18 March).

“Discussions between the Force, Federation and Mr Bugg will remain ongoing - and we will continue to update our members accordingly,” said Sam.

He added: “We have been assured that while Mr Bugg acts as monitoring officer for the Police and Fire Crime Commissioner, he does not have the powers or framework that our members are subject to.

Mr Mold was re-elected to serve a second term as Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire in May 2021, having first been elected in 2016. Commissioners’ term of office is usually four years, but the 2020 elections were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.