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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the policy of police authorities in England and Wales is on suspending a police officer against whom serious allegations of misconduct have been made by a member of the public pending inquiries into the allegations; and if he will...

Asked by

Tom Cox (Labour)

Answering body

Home Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

10 September 2004

For answer on

4 October 2004

Answered on

4 October 2004

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the policy of police authorities in England and Wales is on suspending a police officer against whom serious allegations of misconduct have been made by a member of the public pending inquiries into the allegations; and if he will make a statement; [189100] (2) the policy is of police authorities in England and Wales when serious allegations of misconduct have been made against serving police officers by a member of the public as to whether such an officer is suspended from duty pending enquiries into the allegations that have been made; and if he will make a statement. [187608] Ms Blears: Under the terms of the Police Reform Act 2002, the chief officer of a force is solely responsible for recording complaints about all officers complained against, up to and including the rank of Chief Superintendent, including special constables, and all police staff. The police authority for the force is solely responsible for recording complaints against all officers above the rank of Chief Superintendent including the chief officer. Regulations 4 and 5 of the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2004 define the circumstances in which an officer may be suspended. The decision to suspend officers up to and including the rank of Chief Superintendent is taken by the chief officer of the force; for officers ranked higher than Chief Superintendent the decision lies with the police authority. Home Office guidance states that the decision to suspend should be taken only when the presence of an officer on duty may be detrimental to criminal or disciplinary investigations or proceedings, or when it is in the public interest to do so. This will normally apply only in cases where the complaint or allegation is of a serious nature likely to result in disciplinary or criminal conviction, and an officer is likely to be dismissed, required to resign or demoted. Where the decision to suspend is based on the necessity of maintaining public confidence, an officer must be informed in writing of the specific factors relevant to this decision. Suspensions are subject to review by the suspending authority at least monthly, to determine whether the conditions that required the suspension still apply. A police authority may also consult with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for professional advice on the suspension of a senior officer. A police authority must obtain approval from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) before suspending a senior officer, except in urgent cases, where approval must be obtained within 24 hours of the suspension beginning.

Date

4 October 2004

Reference

424 c1914-5W;424 c1911-2W; 189100;187608

House

House of Commons

Home Office

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the incident of alleged police brutality in Greater Manchester shown on television news in the week beginning on 16th February.

Asked by

Bob Blizzard (Labour)

Answering body

Home Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

4 March 2004

Reference

418 c1128W;418 c1144W; 157303

House

House of Commons

Home Office

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions a police officer has breached the Police Code of Conduct through unauthorised disclosure of information on a suspect since 1973. - No figures, information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Asked by

Claire Curtis-Thomas (Labour)

Answering body

Home Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

17 November 2003

Reference

138280; 413 c679W

House

House of Commons

Home Office

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what powers professional footballers may be charged for offences of assault, violent behaviour and anti-social behaviour during a football match. (Holding answer 20 October 2003).

Asked by

Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Home Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

27 October 2003

Reference

132834; 412 c117W;412 c124W

House

House of Commons

Home Office

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what advice he has issued to chief constables on invoking legislation relating to assault, violent behaviour and anti-social behaviour involving professional footballers during football matches; and if he will make a statement. (Holding answer 20 October 2003).

Asked by

Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Home Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

27 October 2003

Reference

132833; 412 c116-7W;412 c123-4W

House

House of Commons

Home Office

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.

Asked by

Paul Flynn (Labour)

Answering body

Home Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

21 October 2003

Reference

132222; 411 c555W;411 c559W

House

House of Commons

Home Office

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will place a copy of the report of the inquiry into the conduct of ex-acting chief constable Richard Thomas of Gwent Police in the Library.

Asked by

Paul Flynn (Labour)

Answering body

Home Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

21 October 2003

Reference

132221; 411 c557W;411 c561W

House

House of Commons

Home Office

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost was of the investigation into the alleged conduct of the acting Chief Constable Richard Thomas of Gwent Police.

Asked by

Paul Flynn (Labour)

Answering body

Home Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

17 September 2003

Reference

129868; 410 c800W;410 c797W

House

House of Commons

Home Office

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he takes to assess whether appropriate disciplinary action is taken against police officers whose conduct whilst not on duty is found to be improper; what action he is taking to ensure that complaints by the public relating to...

Asked by

Brian Jenkins (Labour)

Answering body

Home Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

16 July 2003

For answer on

16 September 2003

Answered on

16 September 2003

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he takes to assess whether appropriate disciplinary action is taken against police officers whose conduct while not on duty is found to be improper; [127286] (2) what action he is taking to ensure that complaints by the public relating to a police officer's conduct while not on duty are investigated; [127287] (3) what action he is taking to ensure that the Police Complaints Authority has access to all necessary evidence while conducting investigations into improper conduct by police officers when not on duty; [127288] (4) what steps he takes to assess the extent to which police forces release information regarding the outcome of a complaint to those that make the complaint, when release of such information is not prohibited by data protection legislation. [127291] Ms Blears: The Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999 set out at Schedule 1 a Code of Conduct, the principles of which guide police officers' behaviour. The Code applies to the conduct of police officers in all ranks while on duty, or while off duty, if the conduct is serious enough to indicate that an officer is not fit to be a police officer. Any breach of the principles in the Code may result in an officer facing misconduct proceedings under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999. Chief officers are responsible for applying the Regulations to their own forces. The investigation of complaints by the public relating to the conduct of a police officer falls under Chapter I, Part IV, of the Police Act 1996 (the Act). Under those provisions the police authority is the appropriate authority for handling complaints against senior officers (those above the rank of chief superintendent) and the chief officer of the force is the appropriate authority for recording and investigating complaints in respect of all other ranks. The Secretary of State for the Home Department does not have the power to intervene in either the recording or investigation of individual complaints, whether they concern on or off duty conduct, or in any disciplinary proceedings. Under Section 72 of the Act, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) will supervise the investigation of certain types of complaints and it is within that process of supervision that it will have access to all the necessary evidence, primarily by way of the Investigating Officer's report. In such cases, the PCA may also impose such additional reasonable requirements as to the conduct of the investigation as appear to them necessary. There is currently no statutory requirement for a force to disclose information to a complainant. The Secretary of State for the Home Department does not assess the extent to which police forces release information to a complainant regarding the outcome of a complaint. A new police complaints system will be introduced from April 2004 under provisions in the Police Reform Act 2002. This new system will operate under the guardianship of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). The new system will not change the Secretary of State for the Home Department's role in regard to the handling of complaints or disciplinary proceedings taken against police officers. Similarly, although it does not change the handling with regard to supervised complaints, it does provide for a managed investigation by the IPCC and for an independent investigation by the IPCC. As these two new types of investigation will put the IPCC in full control of the investigation, they will have unrestricted access to all the necessary evidence. Finally, with regards to the disclosure of information, the new complaints system places a clear duty on the police to keep the complainant properly informed during, and at the end of, an investigation, subject to a sensitivity test.

Date

16 September 2003

Reference

410 c670-1W;410 c668-9W; 127286;127287;127288;127291

House

House of Commons

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on Alder Hey Hospital

Lead member

Derek Twigg

Answering member

Hazel Blears

Department

Department of Health

Type

Adjournment debates

Date

21 November 2001

Reference

375 c67-88WH

House

House of Commons

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Legislative stage

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