Reform of police misconduct procedures

Report: 5
Date: 15 November 2007
By: AC Operational Services on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This paper provides the MPA Professional Standards and Complaints Committee with the current position regarding the introduction of the forthcoming Police (Conduct) Regulations, 2008 & Police (Performance) Regulations, 2008.

The necessary legislative arrangements are progressing and it is expected that primary legislation will be granted parliamentary approval in January 2008 via the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill. It is anticipated that the new procedures will be introduced in to the police service in mid 2008. The MPA PSCC are aware of the background and context in which these new regulations are being introduced and the significant challenges and cultural changes that must be addressed. The Regulations introduce three significant elements:

• A new national Standards of Professional Behaviour,
• The re-introduction & re-invigoration of the Unsatisfactory Performance management regime and
• New procedures for addressing Misconduct in the Police Service.

The Directorate of Professional Standards, on behalf of the MPS, is leading on this work and has established a project team to address the issues, which will lead to a successful implementation of the legislation. This paper identifies the key themes and plan to assist with this new legislation.

A. Recommendations

That:

1. members note the implications for the MPS of the new police misconduct procedures and the impact of this legislation upon the managing of our police officer staff; and

2. the progress made to date with the implementation to introduce changes to the new police misconduct procedures in Spring/ Summer 2008, subject to legislative timetable.

B. Supporting information

1. The reform of police misconduct procedures (Taylor Project) will become the catalyst to change the culture from punishment to improvement. It is a change management programme that is vision-led and benefits-driven. The Police Service awaits the changes to primary legislation to the Criminal Justice Bill in January 2008, to become mandatory in Spring/Summer 2008. The focus of the reforms is how we deal with Public Complaints and Misconduct for Police Officers. The cultural and leadership changes Taylor will bring, including a shift towards prevention and organisational learning, will build upon our goals and values. The MPS must prepare for the changes ahead with systems, training and processes in place for Spring/Summer 2008. The Taylor Review of police discipline concluded that there was a pressing need to review the current poor performance procedure so as to encourage the use of them to deal with unsatisfactory performance and where relevant in preference to misconduct.

Taylor Project Vision and benefits to the MPS

2. The vision for the new misconduct system is to achieve confidence of staff through fair treatment, openness, proportionate response, timely intervention / investigation and flexibility to move between misconduct and performance procedures. Specifically;

• Set minimum standards of behaviour and encourage a culture of learning and development for the officer concerned and the organisation, the emphasis being on improvement.
• Put managers in the driving seat by formally (in regulation) empowering managers to deal with misconduct at the lowest level, e.g. formal misconduct meeting on B/OCUs.
• Provide an opportunity to deal with misconduct without waiting for the outcome of related criminal proceedings. This includes fast track procedures (over which the CPS will not have power of veto), which are hearings without witness, i.e. based on documentary evidence only, and dismissal without notice is an option.
• Police Officer and Police Staff discipline processes, although separate, will be aligned where possible to ensure similar consistent outcomes.

Impact of legislative changes to B/OCUs and HR

3. B/OCUs will need to manage misconduct cases where the maximum outcome would be a final written warning. At present B/OCUs deal with approximately 27% of all cases. This equates to approximately 26% of all public complaints and 33% of all conduct matters. DPS deals with the remaining 73% of cases. Under the new legislation, this will equate to an additional average of 29 cases a year or 2-3 cases a month per operational B/OCU (based on 53 operational B/OCUs in the MPS).

4. DPS current data shows that local resolutions dealt with on B/OCU range from 21% to 72%. Those B/OCUs managing a higher number of local resolutions are unlikely to notice a significant impact on time and resources in dealing with public complaints and misconduct.

5. The DPS Customer Service Team will make the initial assessment of misconduct and will also be able to provide the status of all cases from start of assessment to conclusion of the case, providing B/OCUs with expert advice for all professional standards enquiries. The DPS Borough Support Units will provide practical day-to-day guidance for B/OCU staff dealing with professional standards issues, particularly for the first 12 months whilst the new processes bed in.

6. DPS and HR are designing a training programme, expected to commence in February 2008, to train a minimum of three Police Officers/Staff per B/OCU who will be identified as professional standards ‘champions’ by B/OCUs - early indications suggest a Chief Inspector, Inspector and Band D. A Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is being completed jointly with DPS and HR. All costs for training these three per B/OCU staff will be met from the DPS financial budget 2007/8. First line managers will also receive awareness training through the Transforming HR training sessions being rolled out to the MPS from September 2007 – October 2008. HR are also represented on the Taylor Project Team to reinvigorate and promote the Unsatisfactory Performance Procedures (UPP) to ensure that poor performance and development issues for police officers are addressed in the appropriate way. HR and DPS are also working to ensure that Police Officer and Police Staff discipline processes, although separate, will be aligned where possible to ensure similar consistent outcomes, particularly incidents involving Police Officers and PCSOs. All of these issues will be managed and addressed within the training programme.

Impact of legislative changes to ACPO

7 In concept, Misconduct Boards will move away from formal adversarial courtroom style proceedings to where the panel chair (ACPO member) will determine the witnesses - similar to an ‘Examining Magistrate’ type of role. This enhanced role for ACPO officers has the potential to impact on their time and availability. Assistant Commissioners will undertake level 2 appeals as part of a panel together with a person from the ACAS panel of arbitrators who will be the chair, a member of the Police Authority and a member of the officer’s staff association. This is a significant change to the current process and the additional impact to ACPO Officers’ time and availability will be the subject of a joint MPA PSCC paper in the near future to also include further engagement and consultation with the MPA.

Impact of legislative changes to DPS

8. By reducing the number of low-level matters that are dealt with DPS will be able to shift resources to the Customer Service Team, Professional Standards Support Programme and the Misconduct Office. This will provide the outwards facing support for the organisations. The Taylor Project Team have a project strand to define future professional standards roles of the DPS Borough Support Units / BOCUs and DPS, in line with the Taylor model.

9. The Taylor Project Team will oversee the implementation of the reforms and a robust consultation and communication programme has been drawn up. Stakeholder analysis has been undertaken and a stakeholder management strategy has been prepared together with a Benefits Realisation Plan. The supporting documents are attached as follows:

Appendix 1 – Taylor Project Plan
Appendix 2 – Taylor Engagement and Consultation Chart
Appendix 3 - Taylor Communication Timetable
Appendix 4 – Taylor Benefits Realisation Plan

10. A paper will be presented to Management Board on 6 November 2007. The paper outlines the implementation of a phased step-change approach to B/OCUs with the assistance of DPS Staff as part of a continuous training and development programme in professional standards. This would also include a review of the new procedures after 12 months to allow the new business processes to be assessed both in DPS and B/OCUs. Following the assessment the potential for a gradual release of DPS staff throughout the financial year 2009/10, once B/OCUs are confident and proficient in handling public complaints and misconduct cases locally.

C. Race and equality impact

As part of the continuous review of the Directorate of Professional Standards that led to the move towards prevention and learning, extensive consultation and engagement with key stakeholders has already been undertaken and regularly reported on at the MPA Professional Standards Complaints Committee. This process will continue whilst the changes will be Home Office driven. Implementation will be with consultation of staff associations and key stakeholders involved in the change programme. This will ensure an inclusive and constructive change process is at the heart of a successful outcome. The changes and benefits to be implemented will positively affect the population of London, both within and outside of the police family. DPS will continue to monitor on a quarterly basis all equality and diversity implications.

D. Financial implications

The overall anticipated cost of training and project development to implement the Taylor project had been ‘ring-fenced’ within the DPS overall budget for 2007/8 when, if the current timescales are maintained, the training will be delivered. MB will be aware that the request by DPS to maintain a reserve of £100k for this purpose was declined at Investment Board. It is the intention of DPS to find the £100k within the existing budget but, if the TNA suggests more extensive training needs then there may need to be a resource request to MB for the 2008/9 DPS budget allocation.

E. Background papers

MPA PSCC Paper – Reform of Police Misconduct Procedures – Taylor Review dated 8 February 2007.
MPA Full Authority Paper – Reform of Police Misconduct Procedures – Taylor Review dated 26 April 2007.

F. Contact details

Report author(s): Det Supt Andrew Campbell and Nadia Musallam, DPS Project Manager.

For more information contact:

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

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