Freemasonry in the police service in England and Wales

Report: 7
Date: 9 November 2000
By: Clerk

Summary

The APA have circulated a Home Office Consultation Document on ways of achieving public transparency in regard to Freemasonry in the police service, asking for comments to inform the Association’s corporate response by 1 December 2000. The MPS has been consulted and this paper includes comments from DAC Clark (Policy, Review and Standards).

Members are asked to discuss the questions raised in the Home Office document.

A. Supporting information

1. The Government’s response to the Home Affairs Committee’s second report on Freemasonry in public life was published in July 2000 (copy attached at Appendix 1). In that response the Government summarised the outcome of the voluntary survey of freemasonry membership conducted last year through the Association of Chief Police Officers. This showed that the average response rate from police officers and civil staff was 36.6 per cent. This can be compared with response rates to a similar survey conducted by the Lord Chancellor’s Department of 96 per cent from the judiciary and 87.7 per cent from magistrates. The Home Office has therefore issued a consultation paper on ways of achieving a more satisfactory response rate from the police service (copy at Appendix 2).

2. The Home Office document seeks comments on three broad issues:

• What are the options for a further voluntary exercise that would achieve a 95 per cent declaration rate?
• If there is no realistic prospect of achieving a 95 per cent declaration rate under voluntary arrangements, what compulsory arrangements could be made to achieve the Government’s aim of transparency?
• What arrangements should be made to enable the public to obtain access to information provided under either a voluntary or compulsory scheme about whether an individual police officer or civil staff member is a freemason?

3. The APA invites comments on these and other related issues to inform their response. The APA also asks the MPA to consider what specific roles and responsibilities should be placed on Police Authorities in order more effectively to achieve the aim of transparency. Comments are invited both in relation to the process of seeking the necessary compliance from police officers and civil staff and in subsequently managing access to that information. Details relating to the options available and their implications are contained in the Home Office Consultation Document.

4. The MPS has been consulted and some comments from DAC Clark are at Appendix C. He asks that the MPA recognise the efforts made by the MPS to the previous voluntary survey. All members of the Service were sent a survey form with a clear indication that a good response would enhance public confidence. In addition, ACPO officers and all civil staff at Grade 6 and above were invited to set an example by completing the form before it was issued to the rest of the service. The overall response rate for the MPS was, however, only 34 per cent.

5. DAC Clark is convinced from having taken soundings in the MPS that many people regarded the request as an invasion of their privacy. He is firmly of the view that no voluntary system would produce a significantly increased response and thinks it likely that any attempt to introduce a compulsory register would be challenged under the Human Rights Act.

6. He also points out that the governing body for freemasons has indicated that it would be willing to reveal whether or not an individual was a member to assist police investigations into crime or serious discipline. It is his view that only a small percentage of police officers and staff are freemasons and his experience is that freemasonry has hardly featured in corruption enquiries.

7. It would seem from DAC Clark’s response that no voluntary registration scheme would be likely to achieve a significantly increased response, let alone the 95 per cent declaration rate referred to in the consultation paper. A compulsory scheme would require legislation. If the requirement was brought in under primary legislation, the Police Authority and Service could not be deemed to have acted unlawfully in instituting such a register, notwithstanding the Human Rights Act.

8. Members will, however, wish to consider the implications of supporting a blanket compulsory register.

9. One more limited option suggested in the consultation paper is for a registration arrangement.

10. This option has the advantage of requiring a declaration in a limited set of circumstances where a clear and immediate likelihood exists that others may perceive a potential conflict between the performance of one’s duty and loyalty to another organisation.

11. The consultation paper indicates that arrangements for public access would have to be settled before any further registration process would take place. This arrangement is important to individual officers and will need careful consideration if damage to morale, and recruitment and retention problems, are to be avoided. The MPA could support further consultation with the Police Federation and civil staff representatives on the detail of proposals for public access prior to the introduction of legislation. The proposal at paragraph 25 of Appendix B could form the basis for detailed discussion.

B. Recommendations

1. That members discuss the questions set out in paragraph 9 of the Home Office Consultation Paper taking account of the views submitted by the MPS and the analysis in this report; and
2. That members respond to the APA advocating detailed consultation, based on the proposal at Appendix B, with representative organisations on public access provisions.

C. Financial implications

There may be costs involved in setting up either a voluntary or compulsory register. These include both staffing and administration costs. It may be that these will consist of opportunity costs only. It is difficult to judge until full details of the type of register to be set up, the mechanism for obtaining access to it and the number of requests for access are known.

D. Review arrangements

There are no review arrangements as this would be a continuing process.

E. Background papers

The following is a statutory list of background papers (under the Local Government Act 1972 S.100 D) which disclose facts or matters on which the report is based and which have been relied on to a material extent in preparing this report. They are available on request to either the contact officer listed above or to the Clerk to the Police Authority at the address indicated on the agenda.

• Government response to Second Report from the Home Office Committee - Freemasonry in Public Life.
• Report no 12 (MPA /00/40) to the MPA Meeting on 14 September 2000: Proposed MPA Declaration of Freemasons.

F. Contact details

The author of this report is Helen Grant.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback