Corruption was rife in Jersey force, says Harper
POLICE officers took money from criminals and gave prescription drugs to prostitutes in return for sex during an era of significant police corruption, former deputy police chief Lenny Harper has said.
The former officer, pictured, who came to Jersey in 2002 and led the historical child abuse investigation launched publicly in 2008, yesterday levelled a series of accusations against the force and prosecuting authorities as he appeared via video link at the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry.
Giving evidence, he claimed that he faced significant opposition when trying to tackle police corruption and that any officer who was disciplined was later allowed to return to work.
Among Mr Harper's accusations were that officers:
Fed information to drug dealers
Took money off some of Jersey's criminals
Handed over prescription drugs to prostitutes in return for sex
Took free gifts and holidays in exchange for giving contractors additional police work
And that one officer pointed a gun at another's head and was suspended for the incident but subsequently reinstated by the States.
Mr Harper said that most of the allegedly corrupt officers were not charged with criminal offences and that at least four had been suspended but subsequently reinstated.
He also claimed that the level of corruption in the States police was far worse than at other forces for which he had worked.
