Staffordshire Police Federation chair Phil Jones has welcomed the findings of a Parliamentary inquiry into the police complaints and disciplinary process.
The 56-page report of the Home Affairs Select Committee findings, published on 1 March, praised the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for clearing 91 per cent of its case backlog.
But it noted that there are still delays some nine years after the last report, calling this “troubling”. An example of an investigation taking seven years to clear one police officer of misconduct was exceptional, but “demonstrates why the IOPC must focus its efforts on concluding investigations as quickly as possible” it said.
The report adds: “Quite aside from the effect on an individual’s morale, the removal from officers under investigation from frontline duties for lengthy periods may add to strain on police resources.”
MPs noted that policing organisations blame the IOPC for delays, while the watchdog says in return that officers drag their heels in cooperating with investigations. The report also found that the IOPC was not following up on whether forces implement their recommendations.
Staffordshire branch chair Phil commented: “I congratulate the MPs on shining a light into the unacceptable delays by the IOPC and Professional Standards Departments into clearing up misconduct cases.
“Those who are found guilty deserve to be dismissed, but all too often officers are in placed in limbo, at great cost to the mental wellbeing before finally being exonerated months or years later. This is cruel and unnecessary and is why the Federation has been calling for a limit on the length of investigations.”
Phil added that the disciplinary process should become more learning-based and less about sanctions, while calling for greater transparency from the IOPC.
The 56-page report found that:
- Professional Standards Departments (PSDs) should be properly resourced to ensure complaints are handled to a high standard and in a timely manner
- PSDs should be more transparent and ethnically diverse
- The police discipline system needs to be simpler and more transparent
- Former police officers and military personnel serving as IOPC investigators would bring valuable experience and expertise
- Police and Crime Commissioners should be funded adequately to monitor the root causes of complaints
- Forces must adopt rapid, open and non-defensive response to complaints.
