Complaints

The way The Police handles Complaints against its officers is under scrutiny, after former Met officer David Carrick was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years for a series of rape and sexual offences.

During his trial, it emerged that.

Each force has a professional standards department that investigates Complaints against an officer.

Minor Complaints - Such as poor Performance - Can result in a " learning outcome". This involves a discussion with The Officer , followed up by a report.

More serious Complaints Can lead to a misconduct hearing. This is behaviour which breaches, Such as use of Excessive Force or trespassing.

A Gross Misconduct hearing results from more serious allegations that could justify an officer being sacked.

For example, after shouting and swearing at A Woman while off duty.

Other possible sanctions following a misconduct hearing include:

Serious misconduct investigations, Such as those involving a death in police custody, are overseen by The Independent Office for Police Conduct.

In the year to March 2022, there were in England and Wales. This involved More Than 115,000 allegations (a single complaint Can contain multiple allegations against multiple officers).

Of The Complaints which were finalised, the majority (89%) required no further action.

Only 158 (0. 2%) were referred for disciplinary proceedings. Of these cases:

At The End of proceedings, 38 Complaints led to a Gross Misconduct ruling and 78 to misconduct.

Only nine serving officers were sacked and a further 13 would have been dismissed if they were still serving.

There were More Than 3,000 other misconduct cases brought against officers which did not result from a complaint. A third were referred for disciplinary proceedings.

Suspended officers continue to receive full pay during a misconduct investigation. They are also removed from duty.

If an officer is convicted of a serious criminal offence - carried out in connection with their duties - forces Can .

Officers Can only ever lose a maximum of 65% of their whole pension. The decision is ultimately the home secretary's.

If an officer loses any part of their pension, they have 14 days to appeal.

There were 42 approved pension removals in The Five years to November 2022, according to a Freedom of Information request by The Guardian . The total number of applications is unknown.

Officers who are retired - or who have resigned - Can still face disciplinary measures. If guilty of Gross Misconduct , a former officer Can be placed on a police barred list and prevented from serving in any future police role.

Before new officers are recruited, they need to undergo vetting - to uncover possible risks to public safety or National Security .

The Checks are carried out by individual forces and cover:

Having a minor criminal conviction is not necessarily a cause for rejection. But more serious offences - Such as sexual assault and Domestic Abuse - Can be.

Failure to disclose information could also lead to rejection.

All officers should be re-vetted every 10 Years . While vetting exists, forces are not legally required to follow it.

Some officers have given false or Incomplete Information to vetting units, according to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMIC), a police monitoring body.

HMIC also discovered some officers had been transferred between forces despite having a history of misconduct.

In 131 of the 725 vetting cases it examined in a report, HMIC questioned the decision to grant vetting clearance.

The Report followed the by serving Met Police Officer Wayne Couzens.

After Carrick's trial, forces were asked to.

The Met says it is reviewing More Than involving 800 of its 34,000 officers over The Past decade.

However, some argue Bad Behaviour within policing is often covered up and the culture needs to be tackled.

" The Police train their own, they monitor their own, they review their own" says Anna Birley, co-founder of social justice organisation Reclaim These Streets .

Source of news: bbc.com