Officers left in limbo with lengthy IOPC investigations

22 February 2021

Officers are still being left in limbo by the Independent Office for Police Conduct as they wait for the final outcomes of investigations, Essex Police Federation has said.

The police watchdog has been much criticised for the length of time it takes to investigate often routine police conduct cases all of which rack up the cost to the taxpayer.

While investigations are now speedier following a PFEW “Time Limits” campaign, getting them over the final hurdle and actually letting officers know the outcome is still not happening fast enough, Essex Federation Chair Laura Heggie said.

As well as the PFEW campaign to get investigations resolved within a year at the very least, the Home Affairs Select Committee has now begun looking at how the IOPC operates.

“The IOPC still needs to get these investigations completed quicker and they shouldn’t cost so much just because cases can be so prolonged,” Laura said.

“But the biggest issue is around how long it takes them to come out with a final decision on cases once all the paperwork has been submitted.”

The force’s Professional Standards Department often turns similar cases around in three days, compared to the three months plus taken by the IOPC to make decisions.

“I’ve got a couple of jobs at the moment that are sitting with the IOPC just waiting on decisions,” Laura said.

“The files, and the report have been submitted months ago and we’re still just waiting on a decision,” Laura said.

“So that’s when you look at it especially when our Professional Standards Department will routinely

“When the file goes into Detective Superintendent Kirby, he looks to get a turnaround within two to three days.”

There’s no reason why the IOPC shouldn’t be under the same scrutiny as any other public body, Laura said.

“The IOPC should be open to the same scrutiny as everybody else and just because they’re in charge of overseeing the policing the police, doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be policed themselves.

“At the end of the day investigations highlight potential learning but it’s a two-way thing, they should also be learning from their investigations that are going on which may assist with the timeliness of the IOPC getting them done as well.

“The Home Affairs Select Committee review has been a long time coming but I do think the IOPC is making moves in the right direction.

“I think we’ve seen more progress in the past 18 months and they do appear to be listening.

“And from the interactions we have with them, our IOPC investigators are very good at staying in contact with us.

“It doesn’t necessarily speed anything up but at least there is that channel of communication between us that is open, which is good.”