Gwent Police issued an apology to two female officers for reporting domestic abuse from a male colleague almost 10 years ago. The victims also condemned the ‘boys club culture’ within the force.
PC Clarke Joslyn (49, A man pinned one woman against a wall, holding a knife. He then told the second that “something terrible would happen” if she humiliated him.
Additionally, he forced one woman to exhibit ‘controlling behaviour and coercive conduct’ as a result of her monitoring her Facebook account.
The victims were referred to by Sarah and Jodie during a misconduct hearing. They have yet not been identified.
Joslyn’s abusive actions left them serving officers. They claimed that they felt ‘worthless and broken’ due to the negligence of Gwent Police’s ‘boys club culture’.
Joslyn was barred from joining the force in November 2019 after having been a constable for 26 years.
However, a female officer revealed that she had reported to him in 2012, alleging that he had abused her after their breakup.
Clarke Joslyn quit his post as Gwent Police Constable in November of last year. Now he is banned from being a member of the force.
Joslyn was involved in the training of the women. He is believed to have used his seniority and groomed them to be with him.
They were both then exposed to domestic abuse, and finally reported the other.
Joslyn and his colleagues took their accusations seriously.
Joslyn was later found to have victimized a number of other women over many years, while he was still a serving officer and had easy access to young female trainees.
He had quit the force by the time his misconduct case reached its conclusion in 2018.
The hearing took place in his absence. A panel was informed that he had pinned a woman to a wall with a knife, and posted derogatory comments online.
Another panel member heard Joslyn tell a second woman “something bad will happen” if she ever embarrassed him.
His ‘deep-seated attitudinal problems’ were found and he was also found to have violated professional standards when he wasn’t on duty.
Joslyn said in writing evidence that the accusations against him were “fabricated, misrepresented or exaggerated”.
Chris Daw, QC representing Gwent Police said that his behavior ‘typifies a bully.
His resignation was described as a tactical move to avoid his actions towards two young, brave women.
Speaking of police chiefs’ failure to act on her 2012 complaint, one of the officers said: ‘I would not be dramatic in saying this destroyed my career.’
As part of the Centre for Women’s Justice’s national super-complaint regarding police-perpetrated police abuse, Gwent Police brought a civil case against them.
More than 155 other women have come forward to claim similar experiences.
Gwent Police issued a public apology Wednesday to both women for failing to address the accusations.
Joslyn was found to have ‘deep seated attitudinal issues’ and breached professional standards while off-duty
Amanda Blakeman (Deputy Chief Constable for Gwent Police) says that she met both of the victims since then.
A disciplinary hearing took place in Joslyn’s absence at Gwent Police HQ in Cwmbran, Gwent
Amanda Blakeman, the Deputy Chief Constabulary of Police, said that she had met in person with both victims.
She stated, “I am deeply sorry that they lost their support at the time that they needed it most.”
“We are very serious about any allegation of this kind. They will be investigated thoroughly and taken into consideration. Individuals who raise concerns will be supported by us.
“Public expectations about our behaviour standards are rightly high. There is no place in our force for inappropriate workplace behaviour or the abuse of an individual’s position to exploit others.
“We expect all members of Gwent Police staff to behave professionally – most of them work hard to provide services to our communities with honesty, professionalism and integrity.
We are determined to identify those who violate the standards and bring them to justice.
‘The public must have the utmost confidence in the integrity of our officers, and we are very clear that anyone who undermines the public’s trust will have no future in this force.’
Joslyn resigned after 26 years of service, just before being banned for gross misconduct by the police chiefs following the misconduct hearing.
His ‘abuse of women’ was the reason he was fired.
Jodie stated that it took her strength and courage to report the crimes in 2012. If I was not taken seriously, it destroyed my trust and confidence beyond repair.
“I felt not only worthless, but that I was also being question about my integrity.
“The goal of my entire journey was to get a domestic abuse perpetrator in jail and stop anyone else from going through what it went.”
“Sadly this was not true due to the negligence and boys’ club culture of Gwent Police.”
Sarah stated that she had “lost everything” after reporting Joslyn.
She said, “My reputation and my health, as well as my future career in police,”
“I was a young bubbly woman, excited about my job and what the future held for me when I entered Gwent Police. Five years after I had left, I was devastated.
“I’ve even lost faith in the police, as a public agency.”
Jodie was supported by the Centre for Women’s Justice charity, which said the case raised ‘systematic’ issues about the culture of police officers abusing their position.
Solicitor Kate Ellen said: ‘It’s about the lack of procedures in place to ensure independent investigation where things go wrong, where officers are accused of abusing their position.
“Until the police force confronts the magnitude of the problem, there will not be meaningful systemic changes.”