Kent Police Federation reacts to Police Conduct Review

3 August 2026

“Far too many” officers have to suffer stress and anxiety and wait for years to hear the outcome of conduct processes, Kent Police Federation has said, as it welcomed a new Government review into the system.

The Home Office review into the police accountability system will look at how police officers are held to account, identify barriers that can delay outcomes, and consider how the system can be made faster, fairer and more effective.

The announcement acknowledged that “lengthy investigations can leave victims and their families waiting years for resolution. It can also mean police officers who are found to have done nothing wrong are kept away from frontline duties for too long.”

Neil Mennie, Chair of Kent Police Federation said that reform was needed because police conduct issues were currently not being dealt with at the lowest, most proportionate level, as they should be. He said: “It has been consistently misapplied as the highest, most disproportionate level in far too many processes.”

He continued: “In most other arenas – including policing – if we applied the same speed of investigation and transference of risk onto others to ‘make a decision’, it would soon attract criticism.

“It is important to exit wrongdoers from policing, but there are still far too many decent cops on restrictions and facing lengthy waits, often resulting in an outcome that was predictable and could have been sorted from the outset.

“This review is welcome and, coupled with the improvements made already, needs to result in a far more pragmatic approach, leaving fewer officers facing lengthy periods of stress, uncertainty and anxiety.”