Police misconduct processes to be reviewed
Oversight of misconduct procedures is to be reviewed as part of an overhaul of policing standards.
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The Home Office has today launched an end-to-end-review into the police accountability system.
Chaired by Dame Lynne Owens and Jason Beer KC, the review will look at how police officers are held to account, identify barriers that can delay outcomes, and consider how the system can be made faster, fairer and more effective.
Lengthy investigations can leave victims and their families waiting years for resolution. It can also mean police officers who are found to have done nothing wrong are kept away from front line duties for too long.
The review will assess how police misconduct cases are handled across different parts of the misconduct and wider justice system to help create a speedier, simpler and more effective accountability regime.
It follows calls from policing leaders, the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s director general and others to go further in reforming the systems and thresholds used to hold the police to account for their actions.
Recent high-profile cases have also brought to light the significant impact of lengthy investigations on officers, who can wait years for internal resolutions.
Reforming the police accountability system will ensure victims receive swifter justice, while officers who have done nothing wrong avoid unnecessary delays and can get back on the beat faster.
This will help build a policing system that is fairer, faster and more effective for everyone.