Report finds IOPC misconduct delays ‘troubling’
3 March 2022
West Midlands Police Federation has welcomed the findings of a Parliamentary inquiry into the police complaints and disciplinary process.
The report followed an 18-month inquiry by the House of Commons’ Home Affairs Committee into the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and professional standards departments.
It noted: “It is troubling, nine years on from the committee’s last report on this topic, that concerns are still raised about delays to investigations that detrimentally affect people’s lives, about complexity of language and processes, and about inconsistency in updating and supporting officers and complainants during investigations.”
West Midlands Police Federation has backed the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) Time Limits campaign which calls for a 12-month limit on misconduct investigations.
The Federation says there have been too many incidents of police officers being cruelly left in limbo, including for seven years in one case noted in the report, at unacceptable cost to the mental health and wellbeing of the officers and their families.
The 56-page report also highlighted that:
- The police discipline system needs to be simpler and more transparent
- Former police officers and military personnel serving as IOPC investigators would bring valuable experience and expertise
- Professional Standards Departments (PSDs) should be properly resourced to ensure complaints are handled to a high standard and in a timely manner
- PSDs should be more transparent and ethnically diverse
- Some forces suffer from a culture of non-co-operation in investigations.
George McDonnell, conduct lead for West Midlands Police Federation, said: “We welcome the recognition that misconduct investigations often take far too long to resolve, and that greater transparency and reform is needed in this area.
“Those found guilty of misconduct deserve to be dismissed, but most IOPC investigations find that officers have done nothing wrong or are simply making mistakes under pressure. It’s essential that the disciplinary process is quicker and more learning-based. We have seen a shift within the Force so that it is far less centred on sanction and punishment and more focussed on learning and development. We need to build on that.”
George added that colleagues who are the victims of vexatious complaints deserve to have the allegations against them investigated professionally and swiftly, not dragging on and on, calling it a “basic fairness”.
The report found that 91 per cent of IOPC “core investigations” are completed within 12 months, however, in the Federation’s view the delays to many investigations are still totally unacceptable. There is often no rationale, or they are caused by issues such as lack of disclosure or other proceedings.
George said: “We support the conclusion that the IOPC must explain its decisions to the public in non-technical language, and ensure complainants are given more facts about the process, so they have realistic expectations about their complaint.”
