Conduct lead condemns cost of lengthy investigations

4 February 2021

The Humberside Police Federation conduct lead has labelled the cost of lengthy officer investigations as ‘a shameful waste of staggering amounts of public money’.

Ian Spain was speaking after the Police Federation of England and Wales told the Home Affairs Select Committee, as part of its inquiry into the remit of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the police complaints system and the time taken to resolve complaints, that protracted misconduct hearings are costing UK taxpayers millions of pounds every year.

The Federation revealed that, taking into account the average cost of running investigators’ offices, legal aid and officers being on restricted duties or suspended, it estimates an investigation lasting up to six months costs £15,101 per officer. This then increases by 20 times to £302,012 when the investigation time-scale exceeds five years.

Suspended officer costs are considerably higher, with a six to 12-month investigation costing around £67,968, increasing to £453,115 per officer after five years; this is due to the Force having to replace the officer under investigation and use other officers to backfill and work extra hours.

Ian said: “We already know that long-drawn-out investigations cost lives. Colleagues have had their careers, families and mental health shattered by protracted investigations and our Time Limits campaign shows conclusive evidence of that.

“It is bad enough that the personal cost is so high but the monetary cost is a shameful waste of staggering amounts of public money.”

The Federation launched its Time Limits campaign in 2019 to highlight the detrimental impact of lengthy disciplinary investigations on police officers, their families and their colleagues, as well as on public trust and confidence.

It aims to limit the length of all investigations to a maximum of 12 months from the time an allegation is made, which would fit in and complement the new regulations relating to Police and Crime Commissioners being given explanations when cases exceed that time limit. A legally qualified chair would be appointed if the 12-month deadline is missed and they would have the power to terminate or conduct robust case management to conclude investigations, safeguarding both the complainant’s and officer’s position.

National Federation conduct and performance chair Phill Matthews, said: “Protracted misconduct investigations have not only ruined the careers of so many officers, but have severely impacted their mental health, their families and their colleagues- and now we can evidence they are a huge drain on the public purse.

“This is a staggering sum of money and shows every day that an investigation goes on is a significant cost to the taxpayer. Just because an investigation goes on for longer it doesn’t mean it is more efficient – in fact, they are often worse.

“Officers are rightly held accountable for their actions, and I absolutely condemn dishonest or inappropriate behaviour, but the IOPC often inexplicably pursue cases in which our members have acted properly. In many instances investigations which have gone on for five years or more have just ended in management advice or a written warning. We are hoping better training for IOPC investigators will result in more time being freed up to uncover those that don’t deserve to be in the job.

“Public trust in the system will also erode if people do not think their complaints will be dealt with quickly.

“We are encouraged the IOPC is keen to work with us on this matter. However, we must ask can these costs be considered good value for money for the taxpayer? We must make the system more efficient and conclude investigations in less than one year.”

*The analysed data covers the Metropolitan Police Service misconduct or gross misconduct investigations that were still outstanding, that is unresolved, as of 1 December 2018. The Federation has assumed this is reasonably representative of the data it would have obtained had it been able to get data from all forces.