Police chiefs will have more powers to sack officers found guilty of wrongdoing under Government plans to reform the disciplinary system, it has been reported.
Proposals drawn up by policing minister Chris Philp will be unveiled this week as part of a “crime week” of policy announcements planned by Downing Street, according to The Telegraph.
Ministers hope the change will help rebuild public trust in the police which has been damaged by a series of scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer and ex-Pc David Carrick being unmasked as a serial abuser and rapist.
It’s absolutely critical that forces can move very quickly to root out these sorts of offenders who do such damage to public confidence in policing— Justice Secretary Alex Chalk
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told the newspaper that the new rules will allow chief constables to “act quickly to root out these bad actors”.
“It’s absolutely critical that forces can move very quickly to root out these sorts of offenders who do such damage to public confidence in policing,” he said.
Britain’s most senior officer, Sir Mark Rowley, has been pushing for force chiefs rather than independent lawyers to have the final say on which officers are sacked.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has estimated that hundreds of “rogue” officers in his force have been getting away with misconduct and even criminal behaviour, but he currently has no way of removing them.
Lawyers known as Legally Qualified Chairs were brought in to oversee police disciplinary panels in 2016 in a bid to make the system more transparent, but critics say it is too slow and senior officers are more likely to sack those found guilty of wrongdoing.
Under the proposed rules, chief constables will preside over disciplinary hearings and the process for axing rogue officers will be streamlined, The Telegraph reported.
The paper also said officers who fail to keep their vetting status up to date will be dismissed.
But the head of the police watchdog has warned against making chief constables “judge and jury” in internal disciplinary hearings.
Tom Whiting, acting director-general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said last week that Legally Qualified Chairs were introduced “to bring much-needed independence and more objectivity to the system”.
“When confidence in policing has been severely dented by misconduct cases of the worst kind, independence must remain at the core of the police disciplinary system,” he wrote in a letter to The Times.
The IOPC wants lawyers to be in charge of misconduct hearings, but chief constables to decide on the punishment if wrongdoing is proven.
Downing Street has been contacted for comment.
