Officers Shouldn’t Face Random Checks On Phones

THE idea that police officers should face random spot checks on their phones is “disproportionate”, the Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

In an interview in The Times, Sir Tom Winsor, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, suggested that police officers should face random spot checks on their phones in the same way that they undergo random drug tests.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: “That’s probably the most disproportionate suggestion I’ve ever heard.

“It’s just an absolute farce to suggest that people who are not suspected of any offence should have their phone spot-checked. There are already systems in place, and if an officer is suspected of a criminal offence, their phone can be seized and examined under those circumstances.

“To suggest that people should have their phones examined for no reason as a spot-check is totally unacceptable and it would be a red line for a lot of officers, who would leave the organisation if this kind of thing came out.

“There have been all sorts of concerns raised by officers, for instance in the LGBTQ+ scenario where people may have personal preferences within their life that they want to keep private, and doing nothing wrong in doing so.”

Steve requested an apology from Sir Tom Winsor, saying: “I know our force does not support this approach, I’ve been reassured on that. But I actually think there should be an apology from Sir Winsor, because it buys into the rhetoric that all officers have something to hide, and that’s totally unacceptable.”