PCC urged to consider her position after driving ban

18 July 2022

Nottinghamshire Police Federation chair Simon Riley is urging the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner to consider her position after she was handed a six-month driving ban and fines totalling £2,450 for speeding.

Caroline Henry, who pleaded guilty to five speeding offences in the space of just four months, vowed to continue to serve the people of Nottinghamshire after appearing before Nottingham Magistrates’ Court today (Monday 18 July).

But Simon questioned whether she would still be able to perform her role as PCC in which she is responsible for holding the Force to account and overseeing its spending.

He said:  “Caroline Henry has committed a string of quite serious motoring offences and has rightly been punished for them. But she holds an extremely important public office which relies to a great extent on having the trust and confidence of police officers and staff within the Force as well as members of the public across Nottinghamshire.

“I believe that a conviction of this nature will inevitably erode that trust and confidence and I think Caroline Henry should seriously consider her position and ask herself if it is appropriate for her to continue in this role in the future.

“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.

“Caroline Henry should now reflect on her conviction and sentence and then do the right thing.”

The PCC’s lawyer pleaded exceptional hardship so Ms Henry, who was elected as a Conservative PCC in May 2021, could keep her diving licence.

The court was told the 52-year-old drove regularly from Beeston to Salisbury, Wiltshire, to support her children who rely heavily on her and that these trips could not be done by public transport.

But District Judge Leo Pyle imposed the six-month ban, fines totalling £2,450 and 15 penalty points on her licence.

The case involved five separate speeding offences which took place between March and June 2021  when she was campaigning to be the new PCC and after she had been elected to the role.

She admitted all five offences at a previous hearing which heard an automatic camera recorded her travelling at 35mph in a 30mph zone in Chilwell, near Olympia Sports Centre, on 17 March 2021, at 2.56pm.

She also exceeded a 30mph speed limit a day after on 18 March 2021, at 10.33am, on the A610 in Nuthall Road between Stockhill Lane and Bar Lane. The speed was recorded at 40mph.

She then exceeded a 30mph speed limit again on 2 May 2021, at 11.05am on the A6464 Woodside Road in Beeston. The speed was recorded at 38mph. She then exceeded the 30mph speed limit on Oxclose Lane in Daybrook on 27 May 2021 at 8.33pm. The speed was recorded at 38mph.

The final offence was on 8 June 2021, at 9.13pm, at Oxclose Lane in Daybrook, where she drove at 35mph on a 30mph road.

Speaking after sentencing, the PCC said: “I am truly sorry for speeding. Quite properly I have been fined and banned from driving for six months.

“I remain committed to serving the people of Nottinghamshire as Police and Crime Commissioner. Thank you for listening to me on this hot day.”