George welcomes call for review of long-running conduct cases

24 February 2020

West Midlands Police Federation’s conduct lead George McDonnell has welcomed a call for all long-running Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) cases, and particularly legacy cases from the IPCC, to be reviewed.

The Federation’s demand came after the IOPC withdrew a direction for Bedfordshire Police to hold a gross misconduct hearing following the death in custody of Leon Briggs (39) in November 2013, a case which had left five officers in limbo for more than six years.

George said he was all too aware of the pressures the officers would have been under during that time.

“We must all remember that a man died and, of course, there needed to be an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding that but enquiries that drag on for more than six years serve no one well, and that includes Mr Briggs’ family,” says George.

“We have had officers here in the West Midlands who have been put through the mill as a result of what we believe to have been incompetent investigations from the police watchdog.

“To give this some context, of the last 10 IOPC directed hearings within the Force, not one resulted in an officer being dismissed for their actions.

“While we might rejoice in that fact, it was for the most part from a non-investigative view and by that I mean, someone who has never undertaken investigative training and therefore it was very obvious from the outset that some of  the cases being put forward were weak and that certain decisions were being made to try to appease potential complainants.

“It felt as if no consideration was ever given to the damage done to the officers and their families, many of whom are very hard hit when an officer is going through a lengthy investigative process.”

George hopes there may now be a shift in the IOPC’s approach.

“With the introduction of accountability under the new regulations, and the realisation that the IOPC will have to part or fully finance delivery of these cases,  it might now really start to look at the validity of the cases it brings against police officers going forward and maybe even raise the threshold in terms of the  balance of probabilities,” he said.

National Federation conduct lead Phill Matthews wants the outcome of the Bedfordshire Police case to be a catalyst for change and wants all long-running cases, particularly outstanding legacy cases from the IPCC era, to be reviewed with the same vigour. He also wants to see better disclosure training for investigators.

Leon Briggs (39) died in hospital on 4 November 2013 after becoming ill at Luton Police Station where he had been detained under the Mental Health Act.

In March 2018 the Crown Prosecution Service decided none of the five police officers and the one detention officer who had been in contact with Mr Briggs before his death should face criminal proceedings.

The IOPC pressed on with misconduct proceedings against the officers, directing their force to hold a gross misconduct hearing due to have run from 7 February to 28 February.

But on Friday, the IOPC announced it had rescinded its decision, after the Federation had flagged numerous failings regarding the disclosure process which meant the officers could not be guaranteed a fair hearing.

Michael Lockwood, the IOPC director general, contacted Phill to discuss how the process can be improved.

“This case highlights all that was wrong with the old IOPC and misconduct system with some shocking errors being made throughout investigation processes,” Phill said on Friday.

“The IOPC has blamed the Force for offering no evidence but if they don’t believe there is a case to answer it cannot be right that the IOPC can compel that officers be put through a process which is detrimental to their health and wellbeing, and costly to the public. 

“It is a shame this case could not have been pulled sooner by its investigators, and that it got to the stage where Mr Lockwood himself had to review it before rescinding the decision to direct.

“We must remember that at the heart of this incident a man lost his life and it is only right that the actions of the officers who had contact with him are scrutinised and this has been done. I appreciate today’s developments will come as little comfort to Mr Briggs’ family and the IOPC must also look at how they deal with families who find themselves in these tragic situations.”

Read about the Police Federation’s Time Limits campaign.