A "blatantly dishonest" Merseyside Police Chief Inspector has been sacked over his persistent contact with an allegedly crooked property developer linked to the underworld.
Married dad-of-three Stephen Rice was yesterday told his 24-year-career in the force is over in disgrace after an independent panel concluded he was guilty of gross misconduct.
Rice was dismissed without notice following a long-running investigation by the force's Anti-Corruption Unit called Operation Redshift. Before he was suspended in 2021, Rice had been responsible for neighbourhood policing across Wavertree, Toxteth and Picton. He had also served as a firearms officer before being promoted.
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But Rice had other interests outside policing, and by 2016 was a landlord boasting a property portfolio worth in excess of £2million. The officer managed to amass such an extensive collection of properties largely thanks to an initially successful arrangement with a businessman referred to across the four day misconduct hearing as 'Mr A' for legal reasons.
It later emerged that Mr A and two other men, a financial advisor referred to as "Mr B" and a solicitor referred to as "Mr C", who had all worked with Rice on his property deals, were at the centre of a major Economic Crime Team investigation called Operation Benadir.
Initially Rice was treated as a victim of fraud after it emerged a law firm linked to Mr C had "double sold" a £600,000 property on Linnet Lane to the then officer and to a Saudi businessman, leaving Rice with a mortgage on a property he did not legally own.
However he fell under suspicion and was subjected to criminal investigation, although no evidence emerged he was involved in fraud or criminal offences.
Even while under investigation, however, Rice continued to meet with and contact Mr A regularly after he learned he was a suspect, even joking with the developer about wearing a "moustache, hat and gloves" or a "floral dress and blonde wig" as a disguise.
On one occasion, Mr A text Rice saying Mr B had "been lifted" after the financial advisor was arrested, and added: "It is in your interests to call me before I lash this phone".
Rice told the panel he never had any concerns over Mr A, describing him a "nice guy" who he believed was a respectable businessman. However the panel heard he had received texts from a woman who worked for Mr A, telling him the developer "was running with the Ungis" now, a reference to a "prominent organised crime group."
Most damningly for the officer, the panel saw he had specifically denied contacting Mr A in a criminal interview on March 28, 2019, despite investigators finding he had in fact met him in person the day before in Calderstones Park.
James Berry, representing Merseyside Police at the four day hearing, had told the panel: "Chief Inspector Rice is like Icarus, he has flown rather too close to the sun in terms of very attractive seeming property deals from which he could become fantastically well off, and forgetting his role as a police officer. Regrettable as it is, these are the facts."
Mr Berry said Rice, a highly experienced and senior officer, had acted in a way in which "even a probationer constable" would know was far below the standards expected of the force. He described his explanations for ignoring instructions and lying about his contact as "risible".
Rice also failed to disclose to the force that he still owed Mr A around £65,000 when he was asked to provide a new register of his business interests in 2019.
In another eye-watering breach of police protocol, the panel found Rice had spoken for over two hours with a serving prisoner in HMP Garth, called Craig Wright, who was using an illicit mobile phone smuggled into the jail. The panel heard the discussions were around settling a claim for damage caused by one of Rice's flats leaking onto a retail unit below and damaging an oven.
In a further unrelated charge, Rice was found guilty of submitting a 20,000 word dissertation to Liverpool Hope University in 2015 which had been "substantially written" by company called UK Essays. The panel found he had paid the company £3,300 for the work, which formed part of a Master's course in police leadership, partially funded by Merseyside Police.
The independent panel found he had breached professional standards of behaviour around duties and responsibilities/orders and instructions, honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct.
He was cleared of charges relating to a search on police intelligence systems for a man called Desmond Bayliss in 2016, a convicted drug dealer and known associate of Mr A, after the panel heard there was no evidence he was aware of that association at that time. He was also cleared of failing to submit an intelligence report in good time over the text describing Mr A "running with the Ungis".
Speaking after the decision, Deputy Chief Constable Ian Critchley said: “Let me be clear that the actions of Stephen Rice are appalling and in no way representative of the high professional standards that Merseyside Police seeks to uphold and instil in its officers and staff. I know quite rightly how policing standards are very much in the spotlight at this time.
"It is because of a thorough investigation by the Anti-Corruption Unit that he was found to have committed numerous breaches of professional standards, which were found proven during a hearing, and it is right that he has been dismissed. I know that the whole of our organisation feel betrayed and hugely let down by this selfish individuals actions and the breach of trust he has demonstrated to the public he was meant to serve with honesty and integrity, and to all colleagues in Merseyside Police.
“The force’s investment in Professional Standards means we can be proactive in investigating the very small number of people believed to be involved in gross misconduct and we can root them out so they no longer represent the organisation.
“It is saddening that Stephen Rice’s actions have sought to undermine the fantastic work that his colleagues continue to do on a daily basis. I hope that the public sees how seriously we take such matters and the positive and robust action we are taking to remove those people from our organisation who have no place in policing
“I am deeply disappointed by the behaviour of Rice. His selfish, dishonest actions are at odds with the courageous, compassionate, selfless, caring action shown by the majority of Merseyside Police who dedicate themselves to protecting the public of Merseyside."
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