All action against a former Sussex Police volunteer police officer who was charged with dangerous driving has been dropped.
Ex-Special Sergeant Martin Webb was charged after a drink driver crashed into the police car Webb was driving in Brighton on April 28, 2024.
The driver of the other car was convicted of driving over the legal alcohol limit, two counts of driving without valid insurance, two counts of failing to comply with a preliminary test and one count of failing to stop.
After an investigation by the force’s roads policing unit, the Crown Prosecution Service authorised the criminal charge of dangerous driving, and a disciplinary case was also opened.
However, the criminal case has now been withdrawn, and no case to answer has been found for the misconduct case.
Mr Webb, 60, was taken to hospital after the crash by the corner of Millers Road and Compton Road, Brighton. He later resigned from the force, bringing nine years of a volunteer officer to an end.
He previously said: “I saw the ugly, nasty side of Sussex Police.
“They alienated me, bullied me, called me a liar, offered zero support (despite me getting hurt) and broke a whole raft of their own rules and regulations.
“Over the past eight months, I witnessed first-hand two-tier policing, a complete lack of leadership or common sense and their disregard for what’s in the public good.
“They treated the drunk driver more leniently than they treated me, which is ironic considering that the Chief Constable, Jo Shiner, is the national lead for roads policing.
“But they picked the wrong person to throw under the bus … I don’t need Sussex Police for a reference, salary or pension.
“I’ve got nothing to lose by telling the truth – and I know that the best way to stand up to bullies is to call them out.”
“Ex-Special Sergeant Martin Webb was charged after a drink driver crashed into the police car Webb was driving in Brighton on April 28, 2024.”
???
How does that work?
I suspect he was too slow avoiding it, so therefore had to be at fault. There’s something not quite right about the whole affair, given that a charge of dangerous driving was first authorised (by Crown Prosecution Service) then much later withdrawn (by , er, Crown Prosecution Service), and in the meantime (a long long time for this sort of offence) Sussex Police tried other ways to get him disciplined, threatened a lot (according to Martin Webb) and then gave up. Doesn’t really encourage others to volunteer to become special constables, does it? And no explanation or mitigation from either CPS or Sussex Police. Surely this is nothing to do with his bid to become Sussex Mayor, and up against the current Police & Crime commissioner? Of course not, that would be an unworthy thought for anyone.
Sounds like someone needs to get into a position of power to sort them out. Sussex Police have become a joke to the point that no one decent would consider joining.
If he was on blue lights, responsibility shifts towards the emergency vehicle, as they are using legal exemptions. It’s why most emergency vehicles have multiple cameras and telemetrics on them, to be clear where liability stands in the event of an accident.
Two tier policing alive and well and from the horses mouth! Thank you for your service Mr Webb! I think you have done well to get off the sinking ship!
When you watch Night Coppers you can see what a bunch of immature, light weight people Sussex police now employs! Most of them are a joke!
Unfortunately, a TV show is not representative of reality, and one should have the discernment to understand that the programme is edited in a way for entertainment value.
I would say it is more a documentary than a TV show! Documentary’s are supposed to document reality, educate and preserve historical records. So if this is an educational portrayal of Sussex police, it does not do them and the officers any favours. I am sure you can discern that they are actually real police officers in the programme! Maybe the way they act is just for the cameras though!
I do know several decent officers who have refused to be on the show!
I know they are real officers, I’ve worked with a few of them in a multidisciplinary capacity on a few jobs previously; so I can say quite confidently that there is a lot of playing up for the camera! The show is definitely focused more on the brevity, which, after the bad jobs, is needed for one’s long-term sanity. But yeah, certainly people are going to look at shows like that and think it’s a pixel-perfect portrayal.
Is ‘two-tier policing’ now just a phrase everyone uses when they want to moan about the police, a bit like ‘woke’ started getting used to describe things someone didn’t like?
It does seem to be the latest buzzword!