Federation Expresses ‘Deep Concerns’ Over IOPC
SOUTH Yorkshire Police Federation says it has ‘deep concerns’ about the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which it described as ‘not fit for purpose’.
Chairman Steve Kent was speaking after the Police Federation of England and Wales called for all IOPC legacy cases to be reviewed after the IOPC dropped misconduct proceedings against five officers from Bedfordshire who had been under investigation for seven years.
Steve said: “We understand there is a perceived need for a watchdog that monitors police forces and investigations into corruption, and the way they deal with officers who need to be sanctioned. Police forces need to be held to account.
“What concerns me is that the IOPC is actively investigating matters. I have deep concerns about that, because it is not fit for purpose in that regard.
“South Yorkshire Police Professional Standards is seen as one of the best departments in the country for its anti-corruption stance, and has been recognised by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
“Yet there are occasions where investigations are taken away from South Yorkshire officers, who are seen as the best, and given to people who are barely qualified to carry out these investigations.
“Officers need to be held to account for what they do, to inspire public confidence. But there’s a misconception that police officers can’t investigate police officers.
“Nobody wants to root out bad and bent cops more than police officers themselves – and they’re the ones who are trained to do it.
“We keep hearing horror stories of IOPC investigators who are stood in front of a Crown Court, presenting a case against police officers, and they’ve never had any investigative experience before that job. It’s not acceptable and it’s letting everybody down.
“It’s failing police officers in terms of the timescales, and it’s failing the public in the quality of investigations that they’re taking on, because it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money.”
In the Bedfordshire case, in 2013 Leon Briggs died in hospital after becoming ill at Luton police station, where he was being held under the Mental Health Act. It took until March 2018 for the Crown Prosecution Service to decide none of the police officers who had been in contact with Mr Briggs before his death should face criminal proceedings.
Nevertheless the IOPC pressed on with gross misconduct proceedings, but it has now announced it has dropped them. The PFEW had previously flagged numerous failings regarding the disclosure process that meant the officers could not be guaranteed a fair hearing.
Steve said the Bedfordshire “highlights the ludicrous timescales and the situation we’re in”.
He added that officers who were under investigation for years felt like they had the ‘Eye of Sauron’ on them.
Steve said: “There’s a constant fear. Officers feel they can’t go out and do their honest job and do it to the best of their abilities, for the fear they’ll be put under the spotlight and then be waiting years and years for an outcome.”
Steve said there were cases in South Yorkshire of a relatively minor nature that had been going on for more than 18 months.
He added: “These officers, their mental health and their families’ mental health are grossly affected by it. It’s absolutely awful. Family life is distraught, they can’t relax.
“I’ve seen officers who look like a shadow of their former self because they’re just waiting, with this big cloak hanging over them. There needs to be a drastic change in terms of the IOPC.”