‘Farcical’ Conduct Reforms Attack Police Officers’ Rights

Reforms to police conduct procedures are an “absolute farce” and “another disgraceful attack on police officers and their rights and regulations”, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

The Government has announced that Chief Constables and other senior officers are to be given greater powers to sack officers following a shake-up of the discipline system.

Under the reforms, a finding of gross misconduct will automatically result in a police officer’s dismissal, unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Legally qualified chairs (LQCs) have been removed from their position and will instead be legally qualified persons (LQPs), providing independent advice.

The outcome will be determined by a majority panel decision and hearings will continue to be held in public to maintain transparency.

But Steve Kent, Federation Chair, said: “This is coming from the same Government that eight years ago decided we need to have independent chairs because police leaders are too soft. Now they’re saying we need to have police leaders leading this because independent chairs are too soft. This is nonsense.

“The idea that two people, who I won’t name, would have been dismissed any differently under these new regulations is a nonsense. It wouldn’t have made any effect on that. They would have been dismissed in the same way, and there were already regulations in place that deal with guilty verdicts at court and incontrovertible evidence.

“There’s a fast-track process that the Chief can already employ when there is no need for a full hearing when the evidence is incontrovertible. So these reforms are quite clearly ideological.”

Steve said that reforms would minimise the rights for due process for police officers and that the Government was trying to “fool the public”.

He warned that the reforms will face challenge, although in which form is yet to be decided, adding that reforms could mean that officers who fail to keep their vetting status up to date will automatically be axed from their posts.

Steve said: “This is totally ridiculous. Do we really want to have this culture of fear within our organisation?

“Officers are suffering because some forces, and I’m not aiming this at South Yorkshire Police because we’re actually quite good at it, have had poor vetting due to poor resourcing and because senior managers in those organisations aren’t doing their job properly.

“So actually maybe we need to hold people to account in higher office rather than taking it out on the frontline officers.”