Government announces changes to rules governing police officers' disciplinary, vetting and performance processes
Police chiefs will chair independent public hearings responsible for removing corrupt officers from their force under new plans to strengthen the police dismissals process announced today (Thursday 31 August).
In a move to ensure the public are getting the high level of professionalism and service they deserve from our police, speed up the process of removing rogue officers, and to restore confidence in forces, the government has unveiled a raft of changes to the rules governing officers’ disciplinary, vetting and performance processes.
The law will be changed to ensure all officers must be appropriately vetted during their service and to enable officers who fail a re-vetting test whilst in post to be sacked.
Under the new system, a finding of gross misconduct will automatically result in a police officer’s dismissal, unless exceptional circumstances apply, speeding up the removal of officers not fit to serve.
Chief constables (or other senior officers) will also be given greater responsibilities to decide whether officers should be sacked, increasing their accountability for their forces, and will now chair independent misconduct panels. An independent lawyer will continue to sit on the panel, providing independent advice and helping to maintain rigour, but in a supporting legally qualified person (LQP) position. The outcome will be determined by a majority panel decision, as it is now, and hearings will continue to be held in public to maintain transparency.
Police chiefs will also be given a right to challenge decisions and there will be a presumption for former officers and special constables’ cases to be heard under fast-track procedures chaired by senior officers, cutting bureaucracy and saving taxpayers’ money, while making sure those failing to uphold standards are removed more swiftly.
The reforms follow a comprehensive review of the police disciplinary system launched following the conviction of David Carrick, who is spending 30 years behind bars for numerous serious sexual offences committed whilst he was a serving police officer.
We will also explore with police and crime commissioners (PCCs) and other stakeholders extending rights of challenge to PCCs, to allow democratically elected commissioners to hold those making dismissals decisions to account.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:
Policing Minister Chris Philp said:
Other measures announced today include:
These reforms build on wider work underway to transform the culture within policing and raise standards across the board. Last month, the College of Policing strengthened vetting standards, introducing a requirement for officers to be re-vetted following the conclusion of misconduct proceedings that do not end in a dismissal and making clear that checks must be carried out to identify any officers who have been barred from serving to ensure they cannot re-join the police.
The government also established the Angiolini Inquiry following the murder of Sarah Everard to understand how a serving police officer was able to carry out such a horrendous crime and to uncover any systemic issues in policing, such as vetting, recruitment and culture, as well as the safety of women in public spaces. It is also looking at David Carrick’s criminal behaviour and the decision making around his police vetting.
Furthermore, police forces have now completed the data washing exercise to check all officers and staff against national police databases, and are now manually analysing the information to identify leads for follow up.
National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens said:
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said:
In addition to these measures to tackle corrupt police officers, the Home Office is also launching a consultation on a new national framework for how police powers – including stop and search and use of force – are scrutinised at a local level. This delivers on a commitment made by government in its response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report.
The Community Scrutiny Framework aims to assist PCCs and police forces to establish and maintain effective community scrutiny panels in their local area and ensure a consistent approach nationally.
Community scrutiny panels allow members of the community to review individual police interactions with the public and provide observations and feedback via local police and crime commissioners and the police. This can support police officers to use their powers more confidently with the backing of their communities and aid public understanding of how and why police powers are used.
Today’s announcement is also supported by publication of a review examining public perceptions of policing. The review establishes police visibility, availability, and attendance at incidents as critical to public perceptions of policing, and efforts to improve trust and confidence.
Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Donna Jones, said:
The Home Secretary has also made clear that strong leadership at all ranks is essential to drive a positive culture and improve standards in policing.
The College of Policing has launched its new professional framework, which sets new consistent national standards for leadership, which will be delivered to all ranks through training by the College’s National Centre for Police Leadership. A new two-year development programme will also enable the most talented serving police inspectors to advance to superintendent more quickly.
Police entry routes will also be streamlined, including a new non-degree entry route which will be rolled out in the Autumn, with successful candidates beginning their training in Spring 2024.
Chief Constable Andy Marsh, CEO at the College of Policing, said:
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