Welfare support for officers and staff suspended whilst under investigation

Report: 9
Date: 13 March 2008
By: Director of Human Resources on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

The purpose of this report is to provide a progress report on the role of the MPS Suspension Support Unit, following its inception as a result of the Morris Enquiry. The Suspension Support Unit (SSU) is an integral part of the HR Services Employment Support Unit. It was set up as part of the MPS response to the Morris Inquiry specifically to address feedback from a number of police officers and members of police staff who indicated that they felt isolated from the Service whilst suspended from duty.

A. Recommendations

That annual updates be received to enable meaningful updates based on the number of suspended officers in any one-year and evaluation of the service.

B. Supporting information

1. This report provides information on the how the Suspension Support Unit (SSU) works and includes some information on practical support lent to individuals who are suspended as well as some statistical information.

Process and procedure

2. A key objective of the SSU is to provide a corporate overview and governance of the support provided to individuals who are suspended while under investigation. The SSU undertakes to monitor and track the support provided by Operational Command Units. A dedicated member of Employment Support Unit (ESU) staff undertakes this specific activity.

3. At the time of suspension the HR manager at the relevant BOCU is required to complete an abstract from Form 453SM (see Appendix 1) and forward it electronically to the SSU. This acts as a trigger and provides key details about the individual, the reason for the suspension, details of local management involvement and confirmation that a Suspension Support Officer has been offered. It should also indicate if the individual wishes to be placed on the corporate Keep In Touch Scheme (KITS).

4. On receipt of this information, a new entry is created on the SSU database that captures key information. This establishes a separate audit trail that will serve to evidence the on-going support provided to a member of the Service throughout the duration of their suspension.

5. On a monthly basis, the dedicated member of the SSU establishes contact with every HR manager that has suspended staff on their BOCU requesting an up-date on the on-going support provided by both line management and the Suspension Support Officer. Again this is documented on the Form 453SM and primarily takes the form of a contact log. Relevant information is abstracted from the form and entered on to the SSU database.

6. Those HR managers that do not respond within 48 hours are sent reminders to comply with the request for information.

7. At the end of a suspension or at the conclusion of a case the SSU database is updated to show the particular case is closed. The electronic and associated paper records are held securely in the SSU for seven years.

8. Where officers and members of police staff elect to be placed on the corporate KITS scheme they are provided with a weekly newsletter advising of developments across the Service together with copies of policy/legislation etc.

9. The SSU are available to provide advice and guidance to HR managers, and Suspension Support Officers (SSOs) to ensure compliance with policy and the Standard Operating Procedures.

Practical support

10. An example of the practical support provided to suspended officers would be to act as a sounding board for the individual and as a conduit between them and the B/OCU, to facilitate routine administrative matters such as the delivery of correspondence. Whilst such matters may appear on the surface to be low level, they are often of great importance to individuals who are suspended from duty. The SSO also ensures that the individual is fully aware of the appropriate professional support networks and advisory services available to them.

Impact of the introduction of the SSU

11. Prior to the creation of the SSU, previous arrangements were ad hoc and locally administered. A policy and set of Standard Operating Procedures have been developed to capture the work of the unit and to set out process and procedure to be adopted by management on those occasions when their staff are suspended. These are currently in the process of being revised as part of the Service-wide policy review. The policy enables a minimum standard to be observed in respect of the level of support provided to suspended staff and translated into the corporate form 453SM at Appendix 1.

12. It is important to note that the work of the SSU in this area is independent of the Directorate of Professional Standards (Police Officer Suspensions) and HR Practice Support Team (Police Staff Suspensions) in that it plays no part and has no influence in the actual suspension process, including the decisions on whether or not to suspend. However, where appropriate there is liaison between the respective units.

13. The implementation of the policy relies on management at a local level. Corporate governance by the SSU is able to identify (at an early stage) those command units that do not appear to be complying with policy such as the contact log not being kept up to date and will therefore trigger intervention to rectify the situation.

14. Cross Reference Mechanisms have also been built into the process to ensure that the details of all suspended staff are captured by the SSU. The dedicated member of staff has access to the DPS database and will cross reference information held on the SSU database to identify any police officers recently suspended that have not been disclosed to us by a BOCU. The HR Practice Support Team submits a spreadsheet with details of all police staff on suspension and this is again cross-referenced with the SSU database to identify any staff not known. Relevant HR managers are then contacted and reminded or informed of their responsibilities in this area.

Take up of the support services of the SSU.

15. A numerical breakdown based on gender and ethnicity is as follows, at the time of writing, there are currently 29 police officers suspended, 27 male, - 17 are White British, three Black, four Asian, one Turkish Cypriot, one Pakistani and one Indian. There are two female officers both are White British. Of the total suspended, 12 have requested to be placed on the corporate Keep in Touch Scheme.

16. 27 police staff are currently suspended, 18 male, - six are White British, one Black Caribbean, three Bangladeshi, one Black British, three Black African, one Black Other, one White Irish and two not specified). There are seven females suspended of which four White British, one Chinese, one Asian and one not specified. Of the total suspended, six have elected to be placed on the corporate Keep in Touch Scheme.

17. Whilst the unit is proactive in offering direct support and access to appropriate support mechanisms, it is a voluntary scheme and therefore staff may choose not to participate in taking up the services offered.

Case Reviews

18. Two significant cases within the last fifteen months have brought the suspension support service into focus.

19. A cold case review of both cases was undertaken by the SSU and did not identify any gaps in implementation of the support process for the two cases in question.

Way Forward

20. The SSU have received feedback from staff who have been suspended and this has been positive. However, it is recognised that there is no formal provision within the operating procedures to capture feedback and on the effectiveness of the service and this is currently being built into the policy review process.

Abbreviations and acronyms:

ESU

Employment Support Unit

KITS

Keep In Touch Scheme

SSOs

Suspension Support Officers

SSU

Suspension Support Unit

C. Race and equality impact

There are no equality and diversity implications in relation to this policy and associated SOPS. The procedures and standards must be applied in the same way to any member of the organisation irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity, religion, faith etc. The SSU procedure does not have an adverse impact on any particular group.

D. Financial implications

There are no financial implications at this time.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author(s):  George McAnuff – Assistant Director of HR Services, Core Support, MPS

For more information contact:

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

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