TOP POLICE CHIEF SECURES £165K PAYOUT AMID MISCONDUCT PROBE
Suspended Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police Will Kerr will not face prosecution over allegations of sexual offences.Details of the financial settlement awarded to former suspended Devon and Cornwall Chief Constable Will Kerr following his decision to retire are now able to be publicly shared by the Police and Crime Commissioner.
In July, Mr Kerr, who has been under investigation for the past two years but has not been arrested or charged with any offence, announced he had chosen to retire stating it was in the "best interests" of his family and the force.
Commissioner Alison Hernandez is now in a position to confirm Mr Kerr received a settlement payment of £165,539 – the equivalent of nine months of his annual salary.
Had Mr Kerr not retired, he would have continued to receive his usual monthly wage because an investigation into gross misconduct by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) remains ongoing with no certainty when it will conclude.
Mr Kerr was suspended in July 2023 by the Police and Crime Commissioner following a mandatory referral to the IOPC.
His contract was due to run until December 2027, meaning taxpayers could have been funding the salary of a suspended chief constable for 29 months had a settlement not been reached.
Commissioner Hernandez has since announced that Interim Chief Constable James Vaughan has agreed to remain in post until January 2027, bringing stability to Devon & Cornwall Police which would not have been possible had Mr Kerr remained suspended.
Now confirming the details of Mr Kerr’s settlement terms, she said: 'Mr Kerr was suspended on full pay from July 2023 as per the requirements of police regulations while investigations into his conduct continued.
'With no certainty on the length of the IOPC investigation the reality we were facing was significant additional costs to taxpayers and continued leadership instability.
'By reaching a financial settlement, that uncertainty has now been resolved and efforts can now be fully focused on delivering a stable and effective police force.' The Commissioner said she remained 'incredibly frustrated' by the length of time the ongoing investigation was taking.
