Conduct leads discuss new regulations

11 November 2019

Federation conduct leads from across England and Wales attended an annual seminar dedicated to police conduct issues.

Among the Federation representatives at the two-day event were Hertfordshire Police Federation Conduct and Performance Liaison Officer (CaPLO) Paul Coxall and equality lead Danny Howe.

“The seminar is a fantastic way to bring together conduct leads and give us the opportunity to discuss both national and local issues. The speakers are always well chosen and we heard from specialist legal providers, the Home Office and strategic leads in the Independent Office for Police Conduct,” says Paul.

“I found a presentation by Colin Reynolds particularly impactive and interesting. The theme was around the timeliness of investigations which is pertinent given that national conduct leads have been lobbying the Home Office and relevant stakeholders around this very issue.

“Colin spoke passionately about the Sean Rigg case and explained how the officers have been affected by the long-drawn-out process which only concluded in March this year, 10 years after the incident in question. There is a slight ‘end of the tunnel’ whereby in the new conduct regulations - expected to go live on 1 February 2020 - the investigators will need to explain to the relevant authority why there is a delay and what steps are still to be taken.

“The IOPC have pushed back on a statute of limitation such as time limits in summary cases but at least it is a start.”

Embracing the spirit of the new conduct regulations which are intended to put the focus on learning and development rather than sanction and punishment, Superintendent Paul Court of the Met’s Professional Standards Department explained that his force is already using Reflective Practice (RP) instead of management action where appropriate and this includes the IOPC.

On behalf of Hertfordshire Police Federation, Paul Coxall explains: “We fully support the idea of RP, it will hopefully redress the balance of misconduct and management action with only the most serious misconduct justifying misconduct proceedings.  However, to make this work, there needs to be a buy-in from officers, supervisors and the decision-makers and the Federation can certainly help with this process.

“It is my hope that the regulations will embed the ethos of learning and development which was what the Taylor Regulations in 2008 attempted to do. We never quite got there but hopefully in this further attempt we will get it right.

“This will mean only the most serious misconduct will result in notices being served and investigations being instigated. With these investigations, the final outcomes have the potential to be more punitive with the option for reduction in rank returning. As that is the case, my hope is that assessments will reflect the new definitions when you consider what outcomes (sanctions) may result in the end.”