REPORT OF TAYLOR REVIEW OF POLICE DISCIPLINARY ARRANGEMENTS

17 Mar 2005 02:45 PM

Disciplinary arrangements for the police service in England and Wales will remain under the control of Parliament, but will be brought into line with modern management practice, Home Office Minister Hazel Blears said today.

Publishing the Taylor Review of police disciplinary arrangements, Ms Blears said:

"I am grateful to William Taylor for his thorough review. There is clear agreement between the Government, police bodies, the CPS and the other participants in the review that police disciplinary arrangements need to move away from being lengthy, costly, heavily regulated and punitive. An effective, accountable police service that commands public confidence demands a more professional approach.

"I agree that police disciplinary arrangements should be set by Parliament - this ensures national consistency and citizen focus. But within that regulation, they should follow the good practice laid down by the Arbitration and conciliation advisory service (Acas) code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. This will bring modern management practice into police discipline and is supported by stakeholders.

"The Government does not agree with the recommendation that police officers should be allowed to resign or retire while under suspension. Forfeiture of police pension, if a criminal charge linked to employment in the police service is proved, should continue to be an option. In common with others, we prefer the model for police discipline to be an investigation followed by dismissal where appropriate.

"A working group led by the Police Advisory Board (PAB) will now take the recommendations forward, taking into account relevant recommendations from the Commission for Racial Equality's investigation into the police service. I look forward to working with the PAB working group to help ensure that we have the structures and processes necessary to deliver a twenty-first century police service."

Notes to Editors.

1. The Review of Police Disciplinary Arrangements Report is available at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs4/police_disciplinary.htm?

2. The Home Secretary asked for a fundamental review of the police disciplinary arrangements to report to him by December 2004 (subsequently extended to January 2005 in order that some comment could be made on the recommendations of the Morris Inquiry). There had been calls for reform from a number of stakeholders who expressed serious concerns about the current arrangements and their appropriateness for a modern police service. Evidence given to the Morris Inquiry into the Metropolitan Police Service built on these calls for reform highlighting that the current process is slow and bureaucratic.

3. Its terms of reference were:

"To consider police disciplinary arrangements and the extent to which they provide a proportionate, just and effective process for the disposal of conduct and complaint matters; and in a way that is likely to enjoy the confidence of the public and the police. Consideration to include: the extent to which the Code of Conduct is fit for purpose and the potential for the development and possible incorporation of a Code of Ethics; any relevant recommendations coming out of the Morris Inquiry and CRE investigation, subject to these being available within the time scale of the review; the relationship with discipline arrangements for police staff, and any relevant developments flowing from the Workforce Modernisation Programme; and it will include recommendations as to how existing arrangements might be improved to better meet the standards set out above with particular attention paid to cost effectiveness, timeliness, non-discrimination, minimising of bureaucracy and the provision of adequate protection to individual officers."

4. The Morris Inquiry was published on 14 December 2004 (Home Office statement 054/2004). Further information is available from www.morrisinquiry.gov.uk

5. The Government's police reform policy paper Building Communities, Beating Crime was published on 9 November 2004 (Home Office press notice 350/2004) and is available at
www.policereform.gov.uk

6. The Independent Police Complaints Commission was launched on 1 April 2004 (Home Office press notice 144/2004): www.ipcc.gov.uk