The head of Avon & Somerset Police Federation has accused some of the country’s top officers of “petulance” and “whingeing” over calls to give them greater powers to sack rogue cops. Mark Loker, who represents the force’s rank-and-file officers, says the current regulations are already tough enough and transparent and that tightening them up further could turn misconduct hearings into “closed shops”.
In January, the Government launched a review into how police are dismissed, which it said aimed to ensure the disciplinary process was effective in removing officers who were not fit to serve because their behaviour fell way below expected standards. Following the publication of the Casey Report in March, which branded the Metropolitan Police institutionally sexist, racist and homophobic, Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said it was “mad” and “nonsensical” that he did not have the power to dismiss cops and that independent legal tribunals could decide which officers the force had to retain.
London mayor Sadiq Khan also called for more power to chief constables, including the right to reopen misconduct investigations in the wake of shocking crimes by ex-Met officers. Avon & Somerset Chief Constable Sarah Crew, meanwhile, said every misconduct hearing chaired by the force’s top officer over the last five years had resulted in dismissal or a finding that the individual would have been dismissed had they still been serving.
