Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Monday, 13 October 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 21 October 2003. It was answered by Hazel Blears (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 October 2003 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is standard practice for police authorities to keep the report of investigations into their own officers confidential; and under what circumstances a police authority would publish such a report.

Answer: Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is standard practice for police authorities to keep the report of investigations into their own officers confidential; and under what circumstances a police authority would publish such a report. [132222] Ms Blears: Generally, in investigations into criminal allegations involving either a member of the police or a member of the public, it is standard to keep investigation reports confidential. The same applies to investigations into complaints against police officers. It is for police authorities to decide whether to publish reports of investigations: they might choose to do so if they considered that the public interest in disclosing a report's contents outweighed the public interest in preserving its confidentiality.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 132222; 411 c555W;411 c559W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Complaints Disclosure of information Codes of practice Misconduct Police Police authorities
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk