Chapter 5: Hampshire Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service
Introduction
The nurses’ concerns about the prescribing and administering of drugs at Gosport War Memorial Hospital (‘the hospital’) are described in Chapter 1 of this Report. The Panel has found no documents indicating that Hampshire Constabulary, the relevant police force, was made aware of these concerns. Nor do the papers show any approach to Hampshire Constabulary in the period up to 1998.
Between 1998 and 2010, Hampshire Constabulary conducted three investigations and engaged with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). This chapter explains what the documents reveal about those investigations and the relevant actions of the CPS. The chapter concludes by examining corporate liability and health and safety offences, the relationship between the police and the CPS, and how the complaints against the police were handled.