Gross misconduct hearing told of top cop's 'catalogue of lies'

The two-day publicly-held hearing found the actions of Det Chief Insp Daniel Boulter amounted to gross misconduct, both individually and collectively, and would have resulted in his immediate dismissal – had he not resigned ahead of the hearing which concluded yesterday (Tuesday).

During his time at South Yorkshire Police, Boulter had held the position of detective inspector of rape and serious sexual offences, and detective chief inspector of crime in Rotherham.

Boulter – who was suspended in December 2021 – faced seven charges of gross misconduct including five allegations of providing false declarations on vetting forms and two charges of coercive control against two former partners.

On Tuesday, he admitted all of the charges and chose not to attend the hearing at the force’s professional standards unit, having resigned just the day before. 

Boulter came to the attention of the professional standards department after an anonymous call was made to Crimestoppers which led South Yorkshire Police detectives to look into his vetting form and challenge his answers.

A spokesperson said: “This unravelled a catalogue of lies to South Yorkshire Police and Lincolnshire Police, where he had previously worked. 

“During the vetting process – in which new recruits or transferees are required to disclose anything which may be of interest to the police, with specific questions leading them through the issues – Boulter failed to disclose any details of the two different investigations at two different forces, a long standing gambling issue and a long term criminal acquaintance.

“This was a man who had controlled the lives of two women through manipulation and degrading acts.”

Head of professional standards, Det Supt Delphine Waring, announced a complete overhaul of vetting processes and a restructure of the department following Boulter's actions.

She said: “The integrity of any police force is based on the honesty of those within it.

“Daniel Boulter circumvented the system with dishonesty and lies as he knew the truth would have ruled him out of working for South Yorkshire Police.

“He has behaved in a deplorable manner towards women carrying out acts which were intentional, premeditated and repeated. 

“However, we must also recognise this demonstrated errors in our vetting process in 2019. Our vetting procedures must be able to withstand the challenges of those who seek to undermine them.

“We must be professionally curious such that the answers to questions are checked against any other information we may have available to us.

“Since these allegations came to light we have carried out a complete overhaul of our vetting processes and restructured the department. As a result, we are now confident that a transferee with this background would not be able to enter the force today.”

Boulter will be added to the College of Policing barred list which means he cannot return to a role in policing in the UK.

He will not lose his pension as the case was not heard in a criminal court.