Federation will have input in IOPC investigators’ training

19 May 2021

Moves for the Police Federation to be involved in the training of new police watchdog investigators will help speed up misconduct proceedings and make them fairer for officers under investigation.

That is the view of Hertfordshire Police Federation chair Geoff Bardell.

 It’s hoped the ‘Meet the Fed’ sessions with Independent Officer for Police Complaints (IOPC) recruits will lead to smoother relations between officers, their Federation reps and watchdog investigators.

The IOPC recruits will learn about the Police Federation’s conduct and performance liaison officers (CAPLOs) who support members from day one of a complaint and what they will require from them at each stage of an investigation. They will also receive Post-Incident Procedures (PIP) Level 1 and 2 training accredited by the College of Policing.

Geoff said: “This is a welcome step forward, and hopefully it will help to speed up the timeliness of misconduct investigations.

“Long-winded probes can have a huge impact on the health and wellbeing of officers, colleagues and their families. They’re costly to the taxpayer and they undermine public trust in the system.

“Our Time Limits campaign has long called for investigations to be limited to 12 months, and this feels like a victory for the campaign.

“Involving the Federation in the training of new IOPC investigators will also make investigations fairer, helping them to decide whether cases should actually proceed and how they proceed,” Geoff added.

Phill Matthews, national Federation conduct and performance chair, will take part in the sessions.

He said: “This is an important and positive first step towards improving the relationship between IOPC investigators and Fed reps which should in turn make the disciplinary system fairer for everyone.

“By breaking down barriers, we can open discussions with its investigators on how our reps operate to not just support officers but also assist their investigations from day one. We want to help them make the process as smooth as possible.”

Phill added: “IOPC investigators now having access to PIP training is very welcome news and is something the Federation has been pressing hard for. All detectives are trained to this standard, so it only seems right that IOPC investigators are also trained to this level or higher.

“Ultimately, all we want is fair investigators with the best possible training, gathering the evidence our members need to either clear themselves, or remove the minority of corrupt individuals from the service, in a timely manner.”