Devon and Cornwall police chief suspended on misconduct allegations

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Will Kerr, the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall police, has been suspended from duty over misconduct allegations just eight months after starting the role.

The police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, Alison Hernandez, made the decision to suspend the chief of the 10th largest force in England. The decision to suspend Kerr followed a crisis meeting that began on Friday, with discussions continuing until the announcement on Wednesday.

Sources have told the Guardian that one issue referred by the PCC to the police watchdog that directly led to the decision relates to vetting.

One senior policing source described suspension as a “neutral act”.

Another senior source told the Guardian that the suspension of Kerr raised concerns about the resilience of the force, which was already in special measures because of poor performance, before Kerr became its leader.

The police watchdog covering England and Wales, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which has been examining issues to do with Kerr’s vetting, has decided to investigate.

A referral to the police watchdog was made on Monday by Hernandez in her role as PCC.

In a statement, the office of PCC for Devon and Cornwall said: “Alison Hernandez, the police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, has suspended the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall police, Will Kerr OBE KPM, following allegations of misconduct.

“The commissioner has referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which has confirmed it will commence an investigation.”

An IOPC spokesperson said: “Following assessment of a referral from the police and crime commissioner, we have decided to investigate allegations of misconduct against the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall police, Will Kerr.”

Kerr has been the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall since December 2022, having been headhunted by Hernandez for the post.

He joined from Police Scotland, where he was deputy chief constable. Prior to that he served at the National Crime Agency, as well as more than two decades in the Police Service of Northern Ireland where he reached the rank of assistant chief constable.

For any other rank, the appropriate authority to decide on whether an allegation merits suspension would be the chief constable of the force. But the appropriate authority when the allegation is against the chief constable is the police and crime commissioner.

A Whitehall source said the home secretary was powerless to act and decisions on whether to suspend or not was a matter for the locally elected PCC.

Kerr took over the Devon and Cornwall force with it placed in special measures by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, the policing inspectorate. It was criticised over the Keyham shootings in 2021 in which five people were shot dead, with the gunman then killing himself.

Police handed a firearm back to the gunman weeks before he went on the rampage, having previously revoked his licence.