WIREDGOV

Following a misconduct hearing for two officers involved in the Liam Albert investigation being dismissed yesterday, we have issued a statement.

IPCC Commissioner Cindy Butts said: “We respect the panel’s decision today, which followed careful consideration of the opposing arguments proposed by the Metropolitan Police and lawyers acting for the officers involved.

“This case has a long and involved procedural history and we very much regret our part in any delay.  I want to apologise to Liam Albert’s family for the frustration and upset this has caused as well as to the officers involved. We appreciate that Liam’s family feel badly let down by the outcome and the frustration felt by the officers who were subject to our investigation.

“While our investigation was completed within two years, we recognise that, at eight years, this process has taken far too long. While we always strive to conduct timely and thorough investigations we acknowledge that we sometimes get things wrong and that we need to learn from those occasions. Since this investigation concluded, the IPCC has undergone a substantial change programme and has made significant improvements in the way we work to prevent similar delays occurring. This includes the introduction of a quality assurance process to highlight issues before unnecessary delays can set in and a more streamlined investigation process.”

Background:

Liam died in July 2009 and a managed investigation was conducted that found no case to answer against any officer. Following criticism of the Metropolitan Police at Liam’s inquest, complaints by his family and a judicial review, the IPCC began an independent, investigation in May 2013. This was completed and referred to the CPS in June 2015 and, following the family exercising their right to a victims’ right of review, that process ended in March 2016 with a decision not to prosecute. Following discussions with the Metropolitan Police the IPCC directed the misconduct hearings to take place for three officers in April 2016. The MPS arranged for the hearing to for October 2017.

We are working hard to improve the timeliness of our investigations. Of the 361 independent investigations closed between April and September 2017, 77% had taken 12 months or less to complete.