“Replacing independent legally qualified chairs with chief constables in misconduct hearings is a return to the kangaroo courts of the past”

6 September 2023

Government reforms which aim to “make it easier for Police Forces to sack Police Officers”, will see criminals having more protection in the Justice system than Police officers, Sussex Police Federation has said. 

Under the new rules being drawn up, Chief Officers will be put back in charge of disciplinary panels, replacing independent legally qualified chairs (LQCs). The reforms will also mean that officers who fail to keep their vetting status up to date will be automatically axed from their posts.

Raffaele Cioffi, Conduct and Performance Lead for Sussex Police Federation, said: “The cornerstone of any Judiciary, tribunal or adversarial process per se, is founded on impartiality and integrity in order to deliver Justice. Without these principles the legitimacy of the process can be argued as non-existent at best.

“The removal of all of these principles by getting rid of independent Legally Qualified Chairs (LQC’s) in Police misconduct procedures should set alarm bells off for all Police officers.

“LQC’s were brought in to rely on evidence without Political interference with the guarantee that they also serve no other personal agenda other than to determine the outcome of hearings. Details of the proposed changes introducing the Chief Constable as the sole chair for all Misconduct hearings are not in place yet, but the elephant in the room is why the independence of LQC’s has been removed from Police misconduct procedures; the indication is that Politicians and Chief Constables expect more officers to be sacked at the expense of true Justice.”

Legally qualified chairs were introduced under changes to the Police (Conduct) Regulations made in 2015, to replace senior police officers as the chairs of misconduct panels to make the process more transparent, independent and fairer. Legally Qualified Chairs are individuals who remain independent of the police in order to provide fair and impartial oversight of these hearings.

Raffaele added: “It goes without saying that the public want those who damage our profession identified and sacked, as do Police officers, but what the public may not be aware of is that the current procedure deals with this already.

“Chief Constables already hold accelerated hearings and dismiss officers as they see fit, the caveat being that the evidence of their guilt needs to be present. Sadly these new plans remove the complete impartiality and perceived legitimacy of the system, introducing Politics and potential prejudice into a system that was already fit for purpose.

“Sadly Police officers, who do not have employment rights, now have less judicial protection than any other employee in the country. In fact criminals have more protection in the Justice system than Police officers under these new proposed Police Regulations. Sadly it shows what these institutions really think of hard working Police officers doing the toughest of jobs protecting the public, the presumption of their innocence has been removed in its entirety until proven otherwise, the judge, jury and executioner being a Chief Constable. A Police Constable’s right to a fair trial, a human right, has now been completely abolished.”