Assistant Chief Constable Naveed Malik, pictured, ‘undermined the integrity of the process’ by demanding the officer was told what questions to expect during an interview after applying to become a chief inspector
One of Britain’s highest ranking Asian police officers could be sacked for trying to influence a colleague’s bid for promotion.
Assistant Chief Constable Naveed Malik ‘undermined the integrity of the process’ by demanding the officer was told what questions to expect during an interview after applying to become a chief inspector.
The intervention backfired when it was rejected by the unnamed inspector, who wanted to be accepted on merit, and reported his former mentor to bosses at Cambridgeshire Police.
Malik’s actions were compared to ‘boobgate’ and could have damaged the reputation of police nationally, a disciplinary hearing was told yesterday.
The reference was to the case involving Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe, who was found guilty of gross misconduct after flashing her chest at a female colleague during a drunken row about their breasts.
Malik, who is the National Police Chiefs Council’s lead for the recruitment of black and ethnic minority (BME) officers, has not explained why he tried to meddle in the junior officer’s application.
He has previously said he ‘sees it as a personal responsibility to use his position for the benefit of BME officers and recruits’ – although the officer involved in the disciplinary case was white, it emerged last night.
It is not known if they were male or female, however. They have been given anonymity because they had acted as a ‘whistleblower’.
The hearing in Wyboston, Bedfordshire, was told that Malik issued orders for the officer he had ‘informally mentored’ to be told what questions would come up at his interview to become a chief inspector.
A personal assistant, referred to only as Staff Member B, was told to use her mobile phone to tell Inspector A what topics to expect on February 22.
Staff Member B was ‘quite uncomfortable with the order or directive’ to note down the questions on a piece of ‘scrappy paper’ and relay them to Inspector A in a call that lasted less than two minutes.
John Beggs QC, representing the force, said: ‘Inspector A told Staff Member B to go back and tell ACC Malik that ‘I didn’t want to listen and he wanted to be promoted on merit’.’
Married father-of-two Malik, whose own father became the first Asian police constable in Britain in 1967, later said in a police interview: ‘I cannot think what my rationale was.
Malik, pictured, who is the National Police Chiefs Council’s lead for the recruitment of black and ethnic minority (BME) officers, has not explained why he tried to meddle in the junior officer’s application
‘I think that was the massive error of judgment, that’s just a real stupid thing to have done, a grave error of judgement and I cannot explain it.’
Malik, 47, who is third in command at his force, initially admitted simple misconduct but accepted ‘gross misconduct’ had occurred following an investigation by Suffolk Police.
Mr Beggs said the experienced officer, who had a previously unblemished record, claimed he hadn’t intended to ‘usurp the [promotion] process’.
It was ‘self-evident’, however, that the intervention amounted to ‘gross misconduct – this should never have happened, it completely undermined the integrity of the promotion process’.
Despite the severity of the case, the QC added: ‘The appropriate authority does not consider that the admitted gross misconduct requires dismissal to uphold public confidence in and the reputation of the police service.’
Malik’s lawyer, Chris Daw QC, said sacking his client for a ‘single error of judgement’ would be ‘disproportionate’ after an ‘unblemished and outstanding police career’.
He added: ‘The public interest and the interest of policing would be far better served by Mr Malik continuing as a police officer than by his dismissal.
‘The disciplinary process itself has acted as the most formal warning.’
Malik, who is studying for a Masters in Criminology, has 27 years’ police service. He began his career in Warwickshire and later served with West Mercia Police.
The panel’s findings at the end of the two-day hearing will be passed to Cambridgeshire’s Deputy Chief Constable Alan Baldwin, who will decide what punishment Malik deserves.
Rebekah Sutcliffe was suspended following her drunken rant at a junior officer but retained her £109,000-a-year salary.
She was seconded to Oldham Council to oversee how police and public bodies work together.