ACCUSED DETECTIVE ON FULL PAY FOR 3 YEARS

A detective accused of raping an informant under police protection,
stealing #400,000 worth of heroin and attempting to pervert the course of
justice has been at home on full pay for more than three years.

The officer, attached to the South East Regional Crime Squad, was suspended
after being accused of the offences in late 1994, but no decision has yet
been taken on whether he should be disciplined.

The Complaints Investigation Bureau at New Scotland Yard - which has
examined complaints against more than 40 detectives from the squad in
recent years - confirmed yesterday that the officer has been receiving a
salary of about #30,000 while a decision on his future was made.

The Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to prosecute him, but a
recommendation on whether he should face disciplinary action was sent to
the Metropolitan Police by the Police Complaints Authority in February
1997. No action has been taken following that recommendation.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Quinton, the CIB officer in charge of the
case, said: "The matter is still ongoing and he is being paid during his
suspension. I have no idea when a decision on his future will be made. This
is not the time for me to discuss the reason for the delays in the inquiry
because I would expect that when the matters are concluded that will be an
issue high on the agenda. There are a variety of reasons why it has taken
to long; some of those are under my control and some of them are not."

The complaints against the officer were made by a female informant under
his protection. She made 34 allegations against him, most seriously that he
repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted her between July and August 1994 at
two safe houses in Essex. Other allegations were that he "dishonestly
appropriated 4 kilos of heroin from a total quantity of 40 kilos that were
seized"; that in March 1994, he "unlawfully supplied the complainant with a
firearm and a case of bullets"; and that he "unlawfully supplied the
complainant with dangerous drugs", namely cannabis, LSD and ecstasy. Among
other allegations, the woman claims the officer stole money from her, told
her what to say in a witness statement in a bid to pervert the course of
justice, tapped her phone, dishonestly handled #25,000 and failed to act on
information about other crimes.

It is understood one of the difficulties facing CIB officers is the
potential unreliability of the witness, a drug user. According to police
sources, the officer vigorously denies her version of events.