Guilty of gross misconduct – but detective keeps job

Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher faced a police disciplinary hearing accused of three allegations of gross misconduct over alleged breaches of force policy and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

He had been criticised in an independent report into his handling of the murders of Sian O’Callaghan and Rebecca Godden in Swindon.

In a statement, Mr Fulcher said he was looking forward to returning to work with Wiltshire Police.

Operation Mayan

The formal conduct hearing before an independent panel began on Monday and had been expected to last up to five days.

Last year the force said it had made the decision to proceed with a disciplinary hearing after reviewing a report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) into the running of Operation Mayan.

The police watchdog report found Mr Fulcher breached the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Pace) and ignored orders from his own force during the inquiry into murder suspect Christopher Halliwell.

The IPCC report recommended that Wiltshire Police should consider a charge of gross misconduct against Mr Fulcher.

Murder detective Steve Fulcher given ‘final written warning’ but keeps job.

— Andy Davies (@adavies4) January 23, 2014

Fulcher ‘humbled by support received from Beckyâ??s mother Karen Edwards & Sianâ??s partner Kevin Reape, when they’ve suffered such tragic loss’

— Andy Davies (@adavies4) January 23, 2014

Det Sup Steve Fulcher ‘humbled’ by support and ‘wishes to return to work as soon as possible’ acc to his lawyer.

— Andy Davies (@adavies4) January 23, 2014

A joint statement was released by Mr Fulcher’s legal team and the Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales.

It said: “Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher acknowledges and accepts the findings of the panel and is grateful for the thorough consideration given to the facts of his case. Steve Fulcher wishes to express his thanks to those who have supported him throughout this very sad case.

“At all times Steve Fulcher has been motivated by a desire to serve the public and do the best that he can for the victims, their families and for Wiltshire Police. He is grateful for the support he has received from many people and, in particular, humbled by the support he has received from Becky’s mother, Karen Edwards, and Sian’s partner Kevin Reape, when they have suffered such tragic loss.”

‘Dedicated police officer’

The statement continued: “Steve Fulcher is a dedicated police officer and is fully committed to the Wiltshire Police.

“He wishes to return to work as soon as possible to continue serving the public and to move forward from this upsetting and stressful episode in his life and that of his family.”

Detective Steve Fulcher is humbled by the support he has received from Becky’s mother, Karen Edwards, and Sian’s partner, Kevin Reape. Joint statement from Police Superintendents’ Association and Mr Fulcher’s legal team

Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Pat Geenty said in a statement: “Both families have been through the trauma of not only losing a loved one in horrific circumstances, but have had to endure several hearings, court cases and legal processes. This has been a very lengthy and detailed process, but I hope that all parties can now move forward.”

Sian O'Callaghan and Rebecca Godden (above): the detective's dilemma

Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher's handling of the investigation saw 49-year-old Christopher Halliwell escape a murder charge, despite the father of three leading him to the spot where Rebecca Godden was buried. 
Halliwell was jailed for life in October 2012 after admitting murdering Sian O'Callaghan as she made her way home from a night out in Swindon in March 2011.
The taxi driver, of Ashbury Avenue, Swindon, was arrested days later on suspicion of kidnapping the 22-year-old officer worker and was taken to Mr Fulcher.
Over a three-hour period, Halliwell confessed to murdering Miss O'Callaghan and took the experienced detective to her shallow grave.
He then made the startling admission that he had killed another woman and showed Mr Fulcher where Swindon prostitute Miss Godden was buried.
Under Pace rules, which govern the questioning of suspects, Halliwell should have been cautioned several times during this three-hour period.
Mr Fulcher, who has advised officers across the country on how to conduct murder investigations, admitted that during a nine-minute grilling he asked Halliwell to confess to where Miss O'Callaghan was - dead or alive.
The detective warned Halliwell that if he did not come clean, he would face similar vilification in the press to that suffered by Christopher Jefferies, the innocent landlord of Bristol landscape architect Joanna Yeates, who had been murdered the previous Christmas.
During a court hearing in 2012, Mr Fulcher said that even after Halliwell had offered him "another one" - meaning a second body - and taken him to the field at Eastleach, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, where the remains of Miss Godden were later found, the taxi driver was still not cautioned.
Mr Fulcher also admitted during cross-examination that he had become "frustrated" that Halliwell refused to answer any more questions, having finally spoken to a solicitor.
Mrs Justice Cox ruled that Halliwell's confessions were inadmissible, as there had been "wholesale and irretrievable breaches of Pace and the codes".
With no other evidence tying Halliwell to the murder of Miss Godden, the prosecution did not oppose an application by his defence team to dismiss the charge.