01.07.13
Pension penalty suggested for police misconduct
A new code of ethics should be introduced for all police officers, the Home Affairs Select Committee has recommended.
Those who commit serious misconduct should have their pensions docked by the professional standards body, the College of Policing. There is currently no way to prevent police officers facing corruption allegations from simply resigning to avoid disciplinary proceedings or financial penalties.
All forces should publish details of misconduct hearings and their outcomes on their websites, the committee added, and implement registers of chief constables’ interests and dismissed officers.
The report follows at least eight recent investigations into police misconduct, costing £23m.
Labour MP and committee chairman Keith Vaz said: “Broken systems of accountability and a patchwork of police standards and training, have allowed a minority of officers to get away with corruption and incompetence, which is blighting an otherwise excellent service with dedicated officers.
“The days of Dixon of Dock Green are over. The new landscape of policing requires a new type of police officer ready to meet the new challenges.”
But a spokeswoman for the Police Federation of England and Wales warned of the cost: “There will be considerable cost in creating yet another discipline body within the College of Policing, along with forces themselves, the IPCC and the HMIC.
“Integrity in policing is paramount, but knee-jerk reactions to historic cases and those involving an extremely small minority of the 134,000 officers who police this country with absolute commitment should not dictate future policy making.”
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