Terms of reference and work programme

Report: 5
Date: 18 July 2002
By: Clerk

Summary

The Professional Standards and Complaints Committee (PSCC) is a new MPA committee. As such, members appointed to the committee are asked to note the terms of reference. In addition, regular items of information to be received by the Committee are proposed as well as some future work areas.

A. Recommendations

1. members are asked to note the terms of reference for the Professional Standards Committee;
2. members are asked to agree the proposals for regular reports to be received by the Committee;
3. members are asked to comment upon the suggested areas of future work for Committee;
4. members are asked to consider setting up a sub committee to receive regular reports on complaints, allegations and reports concerning Association of Chief Police Officer (ACPO) rank police officers; and
5. members are asked to comment upon the proposal that the suspensions working group reports to this Committee.

B. Supporting information

1. The PSCC is a new MPA committee taking over some of the responsibilities from the previously Professional Standards and Performance Monitoring (PSPM) Committee of the MPA. The terms of reference for the PSCC have been agreed by the Full Authority to be as follows:

• To satisfy the Authority’s statutory duty to monitor MPS complaints procedures.
• To consider high profile and sensitive cases in line with the MPA/MPS protocol. Where a claim for compensation has been made, the Committee will:
  • receive a quarterly information report on compensation cases settled by the Commissioner; and
  • consider, for recommendation to the Authority as appropriate, those cases which require a decision by the Authority to settle a claim for compensation.
• To keep the MPS anti-corruption activities under review.
• To exercise the Authority’s responsibilities in respect of discipline and complaints against ACPO rank officers, in accordance with the appropriate regulations.
• To consider any matters relating to Police Appeal Tribunals and to arrange for the appointment of Authority Members to serve on Tribunals as and when required.

2. Members of the PSCC are asked to note these terms of reference any amendments would have to be agreed by the full Authority. Members are specifically asked to consider setting up a sub committee to receive regular reports on complaints, allegations and reports concerning Association of Chief Police Officer (ACPO) rank police officers. The terms of reference for the sub-committee could mirror those of the previous ACPO complaints sub committee attached at Appendix 1. In terms of the sub-committee’s membership, it is further proposed:

• that it comprises any three members of the PSCC (i.e. the membership may differ from meeting to meeting)
• that the Clerk be given delegated authority to appoint these members
• that all three members must be present for the meeting to be quorate

All members of the Committee will receive regular updates on the current status of complaints, allegations and reports concerning ACPO ranks.

3. It is further recommended that the suspensions working group should report to the PSCC.

4. In order to meet the terms of reference, the following regular papers to the committee are proposed below.

Complaints management information

5. This is a report outlining performance against an agreed set of performance measures covering all areas of complaints (for example numbers recorded, results of complaints, complaints diversity information, timeliness etc.). The paper to be received and discussed at every committee meeting for the purpose of performance monitoring of trends in complaints and the handling of complaints by the MPS. As a relatively new performance monitoring area for the MPA, the performance indicators may evolve over time.

Reducing complaints and strengthening integrity

6. A regular paper will be received on MPS progress on plans to reduce complaints and strengthening integrity in the MPS. An update will be provided for complaints reduction actions from the Best Value review of complaints, HMIC recommendations and the Directorate of Professional Standards, DPS, 3-year strategy programme. This report will be provided to every other meeting of the committee.

Investigation of complaints

7. A regular report will be received on the investigation of complaints within the MPS. This will include DPS development work and 3 year strategy, progress against the best value implementation plan and associated recommendations from the 2001 HMIC Inspection of the MPS. This paper will be provided to every other meeting of the committee.

8. In keeping itself informed of the complaints and discipline process, members may, for example, wish to have invite officers who have been the subject of allegations, reports or complaints to give evidence to the Committee of their experience of the process at the conclusion of an investigation.

9. Finally, the PSCC may wish to consider how its members can be kept informed of current anti-corruption activities without compromising the investigation(s) or their role as members of the Authority.

Compensation cases

10. The committee will receive a report 4 times a year on compensation cases settled by the commissioner. This will also include details of any cases where the Authority needs to make a decision to settle a claim for compensation.

11. In addition to these regular reports, reports will be received as required on complaints against ACPO officers and on matters relating to Police Appeal Tribunals, including any member representation required. An annual report will be provided by the MPA secretariat on trends in complaints made against ACPO officers and Police Appeal Tribunals.

12. Members will wish to discuss requirements for future work and papers to be received. Suggestions are given below.

Timeliness of complaints investigations

13 The time taken for complaints to be investigated from begin to end has emerged as a problem following the monitoring of complaints management information. A paper has been requested on this topic for the next meeting of the PSCC to provide details on the time taken for each step of the investigation procedure and the major problems in reducing the time required for investigation. Members may wish to receive more information on this topic or request other work to be carried out, until this problem is reduced.

Member visits to complaints offices

14. Previously members of the former PSPM Committee regularly visited MPS complaints offices to dip sample complaints files. Members have previously raised several concerns over the visits, including the time taken to carry out the visits, the methods for selecting files and how to feed back to the MPS results from the visits.

15. At the last meeting of PSPM the it was agreed that the role of members in monitoring complaints was ‘to monitor trends and processes, together with occasional dip sampling rather than focussing on individual cases’. Given this, members may wish to re-consider how best to carry out its responsibilities for dip sampling in the most efficient and focused manner. For example, rather than visiting complaints offices, members may wish to have a small number of files for dip sampling at meetings of the Committee in order to have the opportunity to discuss issues arising from the cases, timeliness of the investigations etc.

Role of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC)

16. Section 77 of the Police Act 1996 states:

‘Every police authority, in carrying out its duty with respect to the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force, and inspectors of constabulary in carrying out their duties with respect to the efficiency and effectiveness of any police force, shall keep themselves informed as to the working of sections 67 to 76 in relation to the force.’

17 The Committee may wish to invite the regional HMI to a meeting and seek advice from him or her in relation to how this role is carried out, advice on matters such as good practice in other forces, the link between a force’s record on complaints, e.g. numbers, timeliness, resolution etc, and general force management arrangements, and in benchmarking the performance of the MPS against its peers.

18. Other suggestions for the work programme include:

• the role of, and relationship with, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) and ultimately the new Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC);
• the MPS Professional Standards Strategy work plan and timescales. This could include at each meeting during the year a report on one of the five strands of the strategy;
• an update on the Learning Lab (the Professional Standards and Performance Monitoring Committee (PSPM) received a report on this initiative);
• a report on the operation of the reporting wrongdoing procedure (Public Interest Disclosure Act), together with any proposed changes;
• a report on the operation of the management vetting procedure, together with any proposed changes (PSPM received a report on this initiative); and
• a report on the service confidence procedure, together with any proposed changes (PSPM received a report on this initiative)

19. Members may wish to suggest any other areas of work on which the committee wishes to concentrate over the coming year.

C. Financial implications

There are no financial implications arising from this report.

D. Background papers

• MPA Annual General Meeting 27 June 2002 – Committee Terms of Reference
• Police Authority Oversight of Police Complaints Processes (APA paper dated 9 July 2002)

E. Contact details

Report author: Johanna Gillians and Alan Johnson, MPA.

For information contact:

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

Appendix 1

ACPO Complaints Sub-Committee terms of reference

Terms of reference for the ACPO Complaints Sub-Committee have been previously agreed by PSPM as:

1. ‘To investigate and deal with any allegations, report and complaints about the conduct of officers of ACPO rank in accordance with appropriate regulations.’
2. ‘To consider all matters relating to discipline against ACPO rank officers, within police regulations’.

The Sub-Committee will meet on an ad-hoc basis and members are reminded that in accordance with the Authority’s Standing Orders the quorum for this meeting is 3 members.

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