Investigative performance and misconduct procedures

Report: 13
Date: 11 April 2002
By: Commissioner

Summary

Public complaint allegations have continued to reduce. Based on extrapolated figures it is expected that both the number of cases and their associated allegations will have reduced beyond the annual reduction of 12% that we have seen in earlier years. A higher percentage of fully investigated allegations are being substantiated. 

The total number of current public complaint investigations has reduced significantly from 946 to 833 between December 2001 and February 2002. 

The backlog of complaints over 120 days has continued to reduce from a peak of 440 cases in October 2001 to 360 in February 2002.

A. Recommendation

Members are asked to note the report.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. The summary of key performance indicators is attached at Appendix 1 (see Supporting material) and focuses on timeliness, quality and outcomes.

2. The diversity information template is attached at Appendix 2 (see Supporting material). This paper provides a commentary to the figures in the attached tables

Key performance indicators - Complaints reduction

3. Public complaints (BVPI 21) - row 1 Appendix 1

It is encouraging that there is a continued reduction in the number of complaint cases and their associated allegations between September 2001 and February 2002. The trend appears to be downward and the end of year figures may show a greater reduction than the 12% we have seen in recent years.

4. Substantiation (BVPI 22) - row 3 Appendix 1

The average substantiation rate has increased from 10% to 18% (September to February) compared to the same period last year.

5. Suspended officers / Restricted duties - rows 4/5 Appendix 1

Building on the significant efficiency savings identified in the last meeting of the Committee, 51 less officers have been suspended in the last 12 months compared with 2000/01. 76 officers were suspended in 2000/01 compared with only 25 in the year to the end of February 2002. The total number of officers still suspended as of February 2002 is 58 compared with a monthly average of 113 suspended officers over the calendar year of 1999.

6. The decrease in the number of suspended officers is partly responsible for the upward trend in the number of officers placed on restricted duties, which are increasingly used as an alternative to suspension.

7. The savings made from the reductions in the number of suspended officers are covered in the 'Best Value and Progress on Improving DPS Investigative Processes & Outcomes' paper submitted to this PSPM.

8. Investigative outcomes (public complaints) - row 9 Appendix 1

The total number of allegations finalised in February 2002 is significantly down on previous months. Although February is a short month, it is unclear at this time whether this figure represents a trend. The figures will be monitored and commented on in the next paper.

9. There is a significant upward trend in the percentage of cases/allegations where a PCA dispensation is applied for. Investigating officers have been encouraged to seek dispensations where appropriate, allowing resources to be re-deployed into other investigations.

10. Some of the monthly data for Immediately Informally Resolved (IIR) cases have increased from the figures reported in the last paper. This is due to time lag factors in the data collection system where additional cases have been submitted since the last report. It is too early to say whether the February figures are part of a statistically significant trend.

11. Timeliness - rows 10/11 Appendix 1

'IOTA' (Investigating Officer Throughput Analysis) is a system developed to measure the 'throughput' of an Investigating Officer's cases. It is produced monthly and shows the average days taken to complete the investigation of public complaints and internal investigations, with separate figures for each type of outcome (immediate informal resolution, withdrawn, informal resolution, dispensation or full investigation).

12. Performance against the targets for the completion of public complaint investigations (120-days) and for the submission of dispensation requests to the PCA (60-days) is specifically monitored.

13. 'IOTA' is a new tool being used by managers to address timeliness issues. As the backlog of cases over 120 days is cleared, the average figure of days to complete an investigation is expected to reduce. This is indeed the case for public complaints, which reduced by an average of 23 days between January and February.

14. In order to reflect more accurately the time it takes to resolve a complaint from a complainant's perspective, the Investigating Officers Workload Analysis (IOWA) has been modified. The change has resulted in a slight increase in the percentage of complaints over the 120-day target. This is because the start date is now taken from when the complainant first makes the complaint, which is usually slightly earlier than the date the complaint is recorded on the system. The clock begins ticking from the day the complaint is made, rather than from when the investigating officer begins their investigation.

15. The number of public complaint cases over 120 days has been reduced from the peak of 440 in October to 360 in February. This indicates significant effort by investigating officers in completing their older investigations. The total number of current public complaint investigations has also reduced by 16.6% (999 to 833).

16. Since October 2001 the number of current internal investigations has reduced by 7% (198 to 184), although the percentage of internal investigations currently over 120 days old has increased from 59% to 64%. This is due to public complaints being given a higher priority. The case review process conducted by DPS branches is intended to bring cases to a conclusion as soon as possible.

17. CPS/PCA decision - row 14/15 Appendix 1

There is little overall change in the average time taken for the CPS and PCA to provide DPS with a decision. The figures continue to represent a considerable delay to the final resolution of the complaint.

18. Members will be aware of the Learning Lab set up to reduce bureaucracy and delay in the police complaints system, co-ordinated by the Cabinet Office with PCA, CPS, MPA and MPS representatives. The Learning Lab Working Group, including a Home Office representative has been tasked to identify practical ways to reduce delays in the police complaints system. Changes will be implemented more quickly by removing the need to refer proposals back to the Steering Group.

19. Misconduct - rows 12 and 13 Appendix 1

Data relating to misconduct is currently only available up to the end of January 2002.

20. The number of decisions made by DPS in relation to misconduct proceedings has exceeded the target in both months since the data has been collected.

21. The percentage of misconduct papers dispatched to the officers' concerned within the 30 day target has been exceeded on three occasions since September 2001. Where the target has not been met it has been due to resource levels within the Discipline Support Unit.

Diversity information

22. The template at Appendix 2 provides an overview of diversity information.

23. The figures relating to sanctions, as a result of a Misconduct/Discipline Hearing (row 11), now include those officers who have been "Required to Resign" in addition to those who have been "Dismissed".

24. Figures are now included that relate to the two stages of appeal/review available to officers following their appearance on a misconduct/disciplinary hearing (rows 12 &13).

25. The request from the last PSPM meeting for Employment Tribunals & Grievances figures (rows 14 and 15) to be broken down into police and civil staff requires the Access database to be re-written. This is being progressed and the data should be available for the next meeting.

26. Where data is unavailable for the ethnicity or gender of complainants, the sum of different ethnicity or gender may not equal the overall total. The percentages will, however, sum to 100%.

27. Public complaints (recorded) - row 2 Appendix 2

The number of complainants in the last 12 months has been 3163, a reduction of 28% since 1999/2000.

28. The proportion of white complainants has fallen by 4% to 52.8% since 1999/00, while the proportion who are black complainants has increased by 3.8% to 31.3% and the proportion who are Asian or of other ethnicity has remained stable at about 10% and 6% respectively.

29. The proportion of complainants who are female has remained constant at about 30% since 1999/2000.

30. Public complaints (recorded) officers - row 3 Appendix 2

The number of officers receiving public complaints has continued to fall in line with the reduction in allegations. In the last 12 months white officers comprised 95.1% of those receiving complaints, compared with a 95.3% representation in the workforce.

31. Stop and Search only (recorded) - row 4 Appendix 2

In the last 12 months 146 people have made complaints about stop and search. This represents 0.1% of the 174,842 stop & searches conducted in the period for which data is currently available (Jan - Dec 2001). This compares with 277 complaints from 168,245 stop & searches in 2000/2001. This represents a reduction of 47%.

32. 52% of complainants were black, demonstrating an increase in the proportion of black complainants with a corresponding drop in the proportion of white complainants. The proportion of white complainants has declined from 44% in 1999/2000 to 31% this year.

33. Racially discriminatory behaviour allegations only (recorded) - row 5 Appendix 2

Between 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 total allegations of racially discriminatory behaviour recorded dropped by 20%, and a similar drop is expected for the current financial year. The percentage breakdown of these allegations by ethnicity and gender has remained similar across all three years. In the current period, the great majority of complaints relating to racially discriminatory behaviour are by visible ethnic minority males, only 11% of complainants being white.

34. Internal investigations (recorded) officers - row 6 Appendix 2

In the last 12 months 543 internal investigations have been commenced. The proportion of black officers (3.1%) and Asian officers (1.8%) being investigated is higher than their representation in the workforce. This is an area that will receive particular attention in the on-going research.

35. Suspended officers - row 7 Appendix 2

Of the 25 officers suspended in the last 12 months, 2 were black and 2 Asian. Although apparently out of proportion with numbers of black or Asian officers in the workforce, the small numbers involved make it difficult to draw statistical conclusions. The decision to suspend an officer is conducted on an individual case-by-case basis and all cases are subject to a formal monthly review.

36. Informal discipline as result of Investigation (excluding written warnings) - row 9 Appendix 2

There appears to be disproportionality in relation to informal discipline in both public complaint and internal investigation cases. This is most evident in relation to black officers, who in the last 12 months made up 4% of those informally disciplined for public complaints and 7% of those informally disciplined after internal investigations. Further analysis is required before any conclusions can be drawn from this data.

37. The data suggests that written warnings are being used more extensively as a sanction in misconduct matters, with 193 officers receiving a written warning in the current financial year to date compared to only 78 when the facility was introduced in 1999/00. There is a correlation between the drop in informal discipline as a result of internal investigations and the rise in the use of written warnings. These findings are in line with the DPS policy to encourage the use of written warnings by Borough and OCU management, as an alternative to undertaking lengthy and expensive internal investigations.

38. Misconduct/discipline hearings - row 10 Appendix 2

Officers are more likely to face formal discipline as a result of an internal investigation (104 cases) than a public complaint (38 cases).

39. The number of officers receiving 'dismissal' as a sanction following a discipline or misconduct hearing is reducing and has only been used against officers who have been the subject of an internal investigation. The figures now include officers who have been 'required to resign', so as to reflect more accurately the number of officers leaving the MPS as a result of misconduct.

Further research

40. More detailed analysis into the disproportionality evident continues. This focuses on three main areas and they are as follows: -

• Disproportionality in instituting internal investigations, including written warnings and unsatisfactory performance procedures (UPP).
• The high proportion of total complainants who are black or Asian and also the proportion of complainants regarding stop & search.
• Employment tribunals and grievances, where there is disproportionality by race and gender.

41. Initial analysis around internal investigations has produced the following emerging findings:

• There appears to be differences, by ethnicity, in the length of service of officers when they are subject to their first Internal Investigation although this requires further in depth analysis.
• There are a high percentage of Internal Investigation allegations involving an element of 'performance of duties'. These internal investigations may have been more appropriately dealt with under the Unsatisfactory Performance Procedure. It is suspected that there is little understanding of and therefore little use of Unsatisfactory Performance Procedure.

42. Further work will be undertaken to analyse disproportionality patterns, trends and possible causes. This research will be guided through consultation between Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) staff and members of the DPS Independent Advisory Group. It is proposed that action plans will be developed to tackle the causes and consequences of disproportionality.

43. The outcome of the meeting of DPS and IAG will be reported to the next PSPM meeting.

Civil actions

44. The DPS Civil Actions team has recorded an eight-year low of payments for civil actions. During 1999/00 £3,906,000 was paid out whereas £413,173 has been paid out for the first 6 months of 2000/02. This unprecedented low over the last eight years is unlikely to be sustainable as cost fluctuate year on year. Members may wish to note the job article attached at Appendix 3 that highlights a particularly successful case.

C. Financial implications

No financial implications arise directly from this report.

D. Background papers

None.

E. Contact details

Report authors: T/HEO Mike Clark and Detective Superintendent Chris Bourlet, MPS.

For information contact:

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

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