IOPC 'Undermined PIP Process With Unnecessary Case Against Officer'

16 April 2026

The IOPC has undermined the Post-Incident Procedure process by bringing an unnecessary gross misconduct cases against a Sussex police officer, the Federation has said.

Raffaele Cioffi, Chair of Sussex Police Federation, was speaking after an officer was cleared of gross misconduct after being accused of lying about an incident which was subject to the PIP process.

The officer was cleared after just a day-and-a-half, having been restricted from frontline duty for three years.

Raffaele Cioffi, Chair of Sussex Police Federation, said: “It was very clear from the very beginning of this process that the officer was trying to do their best and recollect from memory. Officers cannot record information in memory in the same way as a body worn video can, and this is where discrepancies lie.

“The IOPC has simply turned to the officer and called them a liar. By accusing this officer of gross misconduct, the IOPC has completely undermined the PIP process and the safeguards that it provides.

“The IOPC completely jumped the gun on this issue and accused the officer of perverting the course of justice without any other justification apart from one discrepancy in his MG11. This is unacceptable.

“They dragged him through a misconduct process for over three years to get to the position where a misconduct panel listened to the evidence for a day and a half, and came to a conclusion in the officer’s favour.”

The officer faced gross misconduct proceedings after making a factual error in their initial account following an incident in which a PIP was called.

James Lloyd, barrister at Mountford Chambers, represented the officer and said the case set a dangerous precedent.

He said: “Stage 3 accounts are, by design, initial accounts given promptly, without conferring, and without the benefit of any disclosure or reference material. They are not polished end-state narratives prepared with the benefit of footage, audio and other records. Officers should not be held to an unrealistically exacting standard when providing those initial recollections in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event.

“Where further material later becomes available, the proper course is prescribed. The officer should ordinarily be given the opportunity contemplated by the APP to review that material and confirm or amend their account as in the Stage 4 process. If that process is short-circuited by premature intervention or allegations, the collation of best evidence is undermined.

“Allegations of dishonesty are grave. They should be advanced only where there is actual evidence to support them, not simply because an account turns out to contain an error. The higher courts have been very clear: error (without more) is not synonymous with dishonesty.”

The officer in question is now able to return to their previous role having been cleared of all allegations.

Raffaele added: “The IOPC is hiding behind legislation and incapable of making a decision that is in the interest of the public.

“The threshold that is currently used is ‘if a reasonable panel could find misconduct’. This is the legislation they hide behind to ignore the interests of the public and our members.

“We have had an officer restricted for three years and the cost of this hearing has all come from the public purse. Until this threshold is changed, good officers doing their best in the most difficult of circumstances will continue to be at risk of these kind of allegations.

“The lesson that we’ve learned now is that if there is additional reference material that comes to light through the stages of PIP, we will be looking to review that material under the APP and then alter our initial accounts where necessary to provide additional information.

“This member was support from the beginning to the end of this three-year process. The member has received outstanding representation from James Lloyd counsel and can now continue with their frontline duties and protect the public. This is the robust service that members should expect."