Daniel Boulter: Cop who spat at partner during sex and made threats to kill resigned before he was sacked

A senior police officer who was the subject of criminal investigations, accused of a string of offences including voyeurism, coercive and controlling behaviour and threats to kill, would have been sacked if he had not resigned the evening before his misconduct hearing was due to take place.

Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Boulter was set to be brought in front of a South Yorkshire Police misconduct hearing on Monday, August 7, 2023, accused of seven charges relating to the coercive control of multiple partners, along with his failure to disclose his gambling addiction, association with a known career criminal, and criminal investigations launched against him by two police forces.

However, Mr Boulter resigned on the eve of the hearing, and confirmed, through his barrister Richard Ohme, that he admitted all of the conduct outlined in the seven serious allegations against him.

Mr Boulter did not attend the hearing, and it was opened in his absence by John Beggs KC, acting on behalf of South Yorkshire Police. Mr Beggs suggested the case ‘is, unhappily, a story of repeated failures' by Northamptonshire , Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire police forces.

The disgraced cop had ‘slipped under the radar,’ moving from police force to police force, in spite of two criminal investigations being launched against him for allegations including coercive and controlling behaviour towards multiple partners, voyeurism, threats to kill, using violence and criminal assault.

He failed to disclose the criminal investigations during vetting procedures carried out when he left Northamptonshire Police to join Lincolnshire Police in 2015 and did the same again when he moved to South Yorkshire Police in 2019. He also omitted to declare his gambling addiction, and life-long friendship with a career criminal who has a lengthy criminal record of over 50 offences and has served at least three custodial sentences.

Former detective chief inspector Daniel Boulter would have been sacked from South Yorkshire Police had he not resigned, panel finds

The misconduct hearing panel retired to consider their verdict and concluded yesterday that all seven allegations against Mr Boulter individually amounted to gross misconduct. Consequently, their findings of gross misconduct mean Mr Boulter would have been dismissed from the force, had he not resigned less than 48 hours earlier.

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

Mr Beggs said: “It can now, with hindsight, be very clearly seen that all three constabularies failed. In respect to Northants Police and Lincolnshire Police, they did not deal properly with allegations of misogyny made to them by six different women. They did not investigate with nuance or attention to detail required."

One of the six woman alleged that Mr Boulter coerced her into having threesomes that he would watch without the consent of all participants; while another, referred to as Ms E, claimed Mr Boulter would degrade her by spitting in her face during sex, and on one occasion, assaulted her and told her his mother and her friends, all of whom are from an ‘estate in Grimsby’, would chop her into little pieces and bury her in her back garden.

Mr Boulter had criminal investigations launched against him by the two police forces he worked for before South Yorkshire Police, with Northamptonshire Police launching a voyeurism investigation in 2012, while Lincolnshire Police's investigation into allegations of coercive control, threats to kill, using violence and common assault was commenced in 2018.

Crown Prosecution Service deemed there to be an 'evidentiary insufficiency in voyeurism investigation'

Mr Boulter was not charged in connection with either set of allegations. Lincolnshire Police did not even refer the allegations to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS); and in the case of the voyeurism investation, the CPS deemed there to be an 'evidentiary insufficiency'.

Mr Boulter has now admitted to intentionally omitting details of the voyeurism probe on his vetting form when he moved to Lincolnshire Police in 2014; and after racking up another criminal investigation during his five year stint with Lincolnshire Police, he failed to disclose either investigation to South Yorkshire Police when he submitted a vetting form to them in October 2019.

He has also accepted that he failed to declare his gambling addiction, a vice considered to be a 'high-risk' for police corruption; and his life-long friendship with a career criminal previously incarcerated for drug dealing, to Lincolnshire Police and South Yorkshire Police.

In the case of South Yorkshire Police, Mr Beggs said the force’s vetting department not only had ‘access’ to, but also knew about the two criminal investigations, both of which were dropped.

Mr Boulter was not only given clearance to join South Yorkshire Police despite the force’s vetting department being aware of both the criminal investigations, and his failure to disclose them, but he also continued to rise up the ranks quickly. Within two years of joining South Yorkshire Police, he had been promoted from a Detective Inspector to a Detective Chief Inspector, the hearing heard. Mr Boulter had risen to role of detective sergeant, and was working in CID, by the time he left Northamptonshire Police.

South Yorkshire Police’s misconduct proceedings against Mr Boulter were initiated towards the end of 2021. 

They were only launched after intelligence concerning his conduct was sent anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity, the hearing heard. 

'It wouldn't have taken much to discover Daniel Boulter's behaviour but for some reason he continued to slip under the radar'

The allegations relating to coercive control, threats to kill and violence were reported to Lincolnshire Police by a former partner of Mr Boulter's, referred to in hearing documents as Ms E.

In a statement given in evidence, Ms E said she felt as though Mr Boulter had been allowed to 'slip under the radar' as he moved from police force to police force.

She said: “I should have been able to trust a policeman more than any other person, but actually, it was quite the opposite. It wouldn’t have taken much to discover [Bouldon’s behaviour] but for some reason, he had continued to slip under the radar.”

'Policing will attract those who wish to abuse the powers confered by a warrant card'

Mr Beggs said Ms E's evidence to Lincolnshire Police 'disclosed a case to answer for gross misconduct'.

He suggested the force's failure to proceed with a misconduct case against Mr Boulter was the 'kind described by Baroness Casey' in her report to the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis, which was ordered after 33-year-old Sarah Everard was abducted, raped and murdered a serving Metropolitan Police Officer, Wayne Couzens .

Mr Beggs referred the panel to the following passage from Baroness Casey's March 2023 report: "Policing will attract those who wish to abuse the powers conferred by a warrant card. The Met has not taken this fact seriously.

"Its vetting processes are not vigilant in identifying clear warning signs such as previous indecent exposure or domestic abuse from applicant officers. Transferrees from other forces are trusted to be good enough. Periodic re-vetting has been perfunctory, and self-declarations are relied upon."

What South Yorkshire Police, Lincolnshire Police and Northants Police had to say about the panel's findings

Speaking following the panel returned their findings, Head of Professional Standards, Detective Superintendent Delphine Waring 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.”

Head of Professional Standards, Detective Superintendent Delphine Waring 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.”

Det Supt Natalee Starbuck, Head of Professional Standards for Northamptonshire Police, added: “We note the comments made at the misconduct hearing in relation to the force concerning the conduct of Daniel Boulter, a serving officer with us from 1999-2014.

 “After the allegations came to light at South Yorkshire Police, Northamptonshire Police conducted an independent review to examine in detail how our own inquiries into the officer were carried out at the time.

“Regrettably, we have concluded that had the allegations been looked at today, some 12 years on, there would have been a very different outcome.”

Supt Deborah Clark, Head of Lincolnshire Police's Professional Standards Department, said: “It’s quite clear that the actions of Daniel Boulter fell well below the standards expected of a police officer.

“There were a number of areas where we could have and should have dealt with things better, and I’m confident that should we experience anything of this nature again, we would react very differently to how we did five years ago.  

“Now, we have better measures in place in respect of any allegations of police perpetrated domestic abuse (PPDA) so that there are safeguards to ensure the integrity of the police response and that the unique risks, challenges and concerns for victims of police perpetrators are adequately addressed. This includes:

• Advice given to staff on reporting and recording, immediate action to be taken, guidance for managers and their role, risk assessment and ongoing management and welfare and support.
• Details of an extensive list of support services, both internal and external.
• Strategic and tactical guidance on both criminal and internal conduct investigations, where PPDA is alleged. This focusses on the importance of transparency, impartiality and effective resource deployment.
• Revision of file policy in respect of criminal investigations involving police officers, police staff and close relatives of members of Lincolnshire Police.
• Development of a sexual misconduct policy as per the national recommendation, which makes sure that all Forces were aligned and standardised.
• Agreement with other force Anti-Corruption Units to directly share information and offer advice on the suitability of transferees before they are accepted.
• Compliance with new vetting national guidelines.

“While I’m content that we now have far better vetting, information sharing and reactive processes in place to quickly address and deal with any behaviour of this kind, I appreciate the actions of Daniel Boulter may have caused some members of our communities concern, not least those who he was directly involved with. He can no longer operate in the policing arena, which is absolutely the right decision. 

“What I can say is that where we find anybody acting in this way, we will make sure we use everything in our disposal to deal with them swiftly, making sure we focus on the needs of potential victims as we do.”

The Crown Prosecution Service have all been approached for comment.