Official Statistics

Police misconduct, England and Wales year ending 31 March 2021

Published 1 June 2022

Applies to England and Wales

Frequency of release: Annual

Forthcoming releases: Home Office statistics release calendar

Home Office responsible statistician: Jodie Hargreaves

Press enquiries: pressoffice@homeoffice.gov.uk

Telephone: 0300 123 3535

Public enquiries: policingstatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk

Privacy information notice

Introduction

This release contains information on the number of police complaints, conduct matters and recordable conduct matters received by the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales[footnote 1] in the year ending 31 March 2021. Definitions of key terms used in this publication can be found in chapter 7.

Data in this release cover only those complaints and conduct matters that were deemed serious enough to require investigation and were also finalised in the year ending 31 March 2021. Data are provided for both police officers (including special constables)[footnote 2] and staff [footnote 3] [footnote 4].

This is the first release of the Police misconduct, England and Wales publication series. The data referred to in this report are obtained from Centurion, a tool for the recording and processing of professional standards data within police forces. While data have undergone quality assurance checks, as with all administrative datasets used for the production of statistics, there are known limitations and quality issues to consider. Data in this report are a reflection of cases as recorded on the Centurion system, and users should bear in mind the limitations highlighted throughout this report when interpreting the data. Further information about the limitations with this data can be found in chapter 5.

Previously the Home Office published data on police misconduct cases and criminal investigations involving officers and staff in the Police workforce, England and Wales publication series. Following the introduction of new legislation in February 2020 to strengthen the police discipline system, the Home Office expanded its data collection on public complaints and conduct matters from aggregate-level data to case-level data. The resulting dataset on complaints and conduct matters is therefore much larger in size and richer in detail than that previously received. For this reason, and to allow additional time for processing and checking, a decision was made to publish these data in a standalone statistical release rather than as an annex to the Police workforce, England and Wales publication series.

For the reasons mentioned above and throughout the report, these data have been designated as Experimental Statistics to acknowledge that they should be interpreted with caution and that further development is currently taking place. The Home Office will continue to work with Professional Standards Departments (PSDs) to improve the quality of the data and to provide more detailed published statistics in the future, with the intention of publishing in the Autumn on an annual basis going forward (from Autumn 2022). Given the significant changes to the complaints and conduct system since 2020, as well as the way in which data are extracted from the Centurion system in this new report, it would not be meaningful to compare these data to that of previous years.

Key findings

Of the cases recorded by the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales in the year ending 31 March 2021, that were deemed to require investigation (through local, directed or independent investigation), involving police officers, there were:

  • 14,393 public complaints
  • 1,675 conduct matters
  • 940 recordable conduct matters

Of the allegations involved in public complaints against police officers no action was taken in 92% and only 1% were referred to proceedings. This is the formal process to hear cases, initiated when it is determined that an officer has a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct. Of the allegations involved in conduct matters against police officers 28% were referred to proceedings. Of the allegations involved in recordable conduct matters against police officers 33% were referred to proceedings. For further information on the initial result of allegations, including other results not mentioned above, see the relevant allegations section of the public complaints, conduct matters and recordable conduct matters chapters.

Of the allegations involved in public complaints against police officers, that were referred to misconduct proceedings:

  • 48% went to a misconduct meeting
  • 48% went to a misconduct hearing
  • 4% went to an accelerated misconduct hearing

Of the allegations involved in conduct matters against police officers, that were referred to misconduct proceedings:

  • 45% went to a misconduct meeting
  • 44% went to a misconduct hearing
  • 11% went to an accelerated misconduct hearing

Of the allegations involved in recordable conduct matters against police officers, that were referred to misconduct proceedings:

  • 32% went to a misconduct meeting
  • 53% went to a misconduct hearing
  • 15% went to an accelerated misconduct hearing

In a number of allegations, the proceedings type was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions but data on unknown proceedings are included in the accompanying data tables.

In the year ending 31 March 2021, of public complaint allegations against police officers that went to a misconduct meeting the most common outcome was a written warning, with 37% of meetings involving officers resulting in this outcome. Of the allegations against police officers that went to a misconduct hearing or accelerated hearing, the most common outcome was dismissal, with 35% and 62% respectively resulting in this outcome.

In the year ending 31 March 2021, of conduct matter allegations against police officers that went to a misconduct meeting the most common outcome was a written warning, with 67% of meetings involving officers resulting in this outcome. Of the allegations against police officers that went to a misconduct hearing or accelerated hearing, the most common outcome was dismissal, with 36% and 49% respectively resulting in this outcome.

In the year ending 31 March 2021, of the recordable conduct matter allegations against police officers that went to a misconduct meeting the most common outcome was a written warning, with 55% of meetings involving officers resulting in this outcome. Of the allegations against police officers that went to a misconduct hearing or accelerated hearing, the most common outcome was dismissal, with 30% and 47% respectively resulting in this outcome.

In a small number of allegations, the outcome was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions. Data on not known outcomes and other outcomes not listed above are included in the accompanying data tables.

1. Introduction

1.1 Introduction

This release includes data on the number of police complaints, conduct matters and recordable conduct matters recorded by the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, involving police officers and staff, that were deemed to require investigation and finalised in the year ending 31 March 2021. It includes the number of cases that were investigated, the number of allegations involved in those cases, whether the case was referred to misconduct proceedings, and the outcomes of such proceedings. This release also includes information on the demographics of police officers and staff who have had a public complaint, conduct matter or recordable conduct matter raised against them.

1.2 The police complaints and disciplinary systems

The police complaints and disciplinary systems are key for holding the police to account and maintaining confidence in policing. The systems facilitate the public and those serving within the police to raise concerns about the behaviour of an individual serving with the police.

The systems are governed by different pieces of legislation and this dictates how a particular matter is handled. This includes differences between the processes involved for police officers and members of police staff.

Public complaints, recordable conduct matters and death or serious injury (DSI) matters are handled under the Police Reform Act 2002 and the Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations (“the Complaints Regulations”). Whereas internal conduct matters are handled under the Police (Conduct) Regulations (“the Conduct Regulations”). Whilst there are similarities between the systems, there are some distinct differences in how matters are handled.

The Conduct Regulations apply only to police officers (including special constables). Members of police staff are governed by misconduct procedures adopted locally by forces. The Complaints Regulations apply to all those serving with the police.

Where an officer is referred to misconduct proceedings, those proceedings are always held under the Conduct Regulations, regardless of what legislation the matter was investigated under. Police staff misconduct proceedings are set out in force’s local misconduct procedures.

Not all behaviour which falls short of the standards of professional behaviour engages the discipline system. Other processes, either the reflective practice review process or unsatisfactory performance procedures, may be initiated when behaviour is identified that does not warrant disciplinary action.

Figure 1 below shows the stages and possible outcomes covered in this report.

Figure 1: Summary of stages and outcomes in public complaints and conduct matters

Further information about the definitions of key terms can be found in chapter 7 of this publication.

1.3 Experimental Statistics Status

Following the introduction of new legislation in February 2020 to strengthen the police discipline system, the Home Office expanded its data collection on public complaints and conduct matters from aggregate-level data to case-level data. Data are extracted directly from Centurion, a tool for the recording and processing of professional standards data within police forces. As with all administrative datasets used for the production of statistics, there are known limitations and quality issues to consider. Data in this report are a reflection of cases as recorded on the Centurion system, and users should bear in mind the limitations highlighted throughout this report when interpreting the data.

For this reason, these statistics have been designated as Experimental Statistics to acknowledge that they should be interpreted with caution and further development is currently taking place. The Home Office will continue to work with PSDs to improve the quality of the data and to provide more detailed published statistics in the future.

2. Public complaints

2.1 Introduction

A police complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction with a police force that is expressed by, or on behalf of, a member of the public. This can cover complaints about policing practice and service failure, as well as complaints about the conduct of its officers and staff.

Police complaints must be handled in a reasonable and proportionate manner. When a complaint is first made, a decision on whether to record and handle the complaint under Schedule 3 of the Police Reform Act 2002 is taken by the appropriate authority. Certain complaints must be recorded – such as if there is an allegation that the conduct or other matter complained of resulted in death or serious injury or if there is an allegation that, if proved, might constitute a criminal offence by a person serving with the police or justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings. A complaint must also be recorded under Schedule 3 to the Police Reform Act 2002, if at any point the person making the complaint wants it to be recorded.

Some complaints may be handled outside of Schedule 3. This provides an opportunity to promptly address the concerns a complainant has raised. For example, the complainant may have their matter resolved in a reasonable and proportionate manner after engagement with the appropriate authority which would not require a lengthy investigation.

Certain recorded complaints must be referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will then decide whether the matter warrants an investigation and, if so, what form any investigation should take. There will also be certain matters which will require an investigation from the force, such as any complaint where there is an indication that a person serving with the police may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.

Investigations into complaints can take three forms. For investigations which do not require a referral to the IOPC, and those which the IOPC have sent back to the police force, PSDs can carry out a local investigation.

For complaints which are referred to the IOPC, the IOPC can decide whether the investigation should be either a directed investigation or an independent investigation. In a directed investigation, the PSD will carry out an investigation in-line with the terms which the IOPC have provided it. In an independent investigation, the IOPC’s staff will investigate the complaint.

Further guidance about the complaints system can be found in the statutory guidance issued by the IOPC.

2.2 Public complaint cases

There were 14,393 public complaints involving police officers and 2,107 involving police staff[footnote 5] deemed to require investigation (through local, directed or independent investigation) that were finalised (either by the police force or the IOPC) in the year ending 31 March 2021.

2.3 Allegations

Each public complaint case can include multiple allegations. The 14,393 public complaints involving police officers involved a total of 44,087 allegations (an average of 3.1 allegations per complaint), and the 2,107 complaints involving staff involved a total of 3,531 allegations (an average of 1.7 allegations per complaint).

Initial result

For each allegation it is determined whether there is a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct. Table 2.1 shows the number of allegations raised against police officers and police staff which resulted in a case to answer.

For allegations against police officers the most common result was no case to answer, in 69% of allegations there was not a case to answer. In 9% of allegations against police officers there was a case to answer, followed by 7% where the allegation was resolved informally to the complainant’s satisfaction. In 5% of allegations the complainant withdrew and in 4% of allegations no further action was required. A small proportion of allegations resulted in other ways not listed as shown in Table 2.1.

For allegations against police staff the most common result was no case to answer, in 61% of allegations there was not a case to answer. In 15% of allegations against police staff there was a case to answer, followed by 9% where the allegation was resolved informally to the complainant’s satisfaction. In 7% of allegations no further action was required and in 4% of allegations the complainant withdrew. A small proportion of allegations resulted in other ways not listed as shown in Table 2.1.

In a number of allegations, the result was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions but data on unknown results are included in the accompanying data tables

Table 2.1: Result following an allegation in public complaint cases that were deemed to require investigation, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Result following a public complaint allegation Police officers Proportion of all results (%) Police staff Proportion of all results (%)
No case to answer 29,032 69.5 2,025 60.7
Case to answer 3,807 9.1 510 15.3
Resolved 3,081 7.4 294 8.8
Withdrawn 2,062 4.9 128 3.8
No further action required 1,821 4.4 225 6.7
Not determined if the service was acceptable 596 1.4 59 1.8
Disapplication 629 1.5 39 1.2
Discontinued 362 0.9 42 1.3
Not resolved 197 0.5 10 0.3
Regulation 41 108 0.3 0 0.0
Investigation 70 0.2 1 0.0
Schedule 3 10 0.0 1 0.0
Total** 41,775 100.0 3,334 100.0
Not known 2,312   197  

Source: Table 4a

Notes:

  1. An allegation can be raised against multiple people. The allegation against each individual is counted in this table as each allegation can have a different result.
  2. A number of allegations did not have an allegation result these have been included in ‘not known’.

Action taken

Table 2.2 shows the action taken following public complaint allegations against police officers and police staff.

For police officers 92% of allegations resulted in no action, followed by 4% that resulted in ‘other action’, which includes any action not listed, such as, management action or words of advice. Not all behaviour which falls short of the standards of professional behaviour engages the discipline system and is referred to proceedings. Other processes, either the reflective practice review process or unsatisfactory performance procedures, may be initiated when such behaviour is identified that does not warrant disciplinary action. Of the allegations against police officers 3% were referred to the reflective practice review process or learning from reflection. A small proportion (1%) of allegations were referred to proceedings.

Of allegations against police staff no action was taken in 90% of allegations, followed by 5% which were referred to the reflective practice review process or learning from reflection. ‘Other action’ was taken in 3% of allegations. A small proportion (1%) of allegations were referred to proceedings.

In a number of allegations, the initial action was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions but data on unknown action are included in the accompanying data tables.

Table 2.2: Action taken following an allegation in public complaint cases that were deemed to require investigation, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Action taken following a public complaint Police officers Proportion of all actions (%) Police staff Proportion of all actions (%)
Referral to proceedings 374 0.9 44 1.4
Reflective practice review process 843 2.1 139 4.3
Learning from reflection 331 0.8 36 1.1
Unsatisfactory performance procedures 26 0.1 1 0.0
Other action 1,544 3.8 98 3.1
No action 37,132 91.8 2,872 89.8
Retired or resigned 201 0.5 8 0.3
Total 40,451 100.0 3,198 100.0
Not known 3,636   333  

Source: Table 5a

Notes:

  1. An allegation can be raised against multiple people, the allegation against each individual is counted in this table as each allegation can have a different result.
  2. ‘Other action’ includes any action not listed, such as, management action or words of advice.
  3. A small number of allegations did not have an allegation action these have been included in ‘not known’.

2.4 Proceedings type

For cases referred to formal disciplinary proceedings the proceedings type will depend on the severity of the allegation:

  • a misconduct meeting is held where there is a case to answer in respect of misconduct

  • a misconduct hearing is held when there is a case to answer in respect of gross misconduct (or where the individual had a final written in place at the time of initial severity assessment)

  • an accelerated hearing (previously known as a special case hearing) is a fast-tracked misconduct hearing held when there is already sufficient evidence that the officer has committed gross misconduct and it is in the public interest for the officer to be dismissed without delay

Figure 2.1 shows the proceedings type (meeting, hearing or accelerated hearing), for police officers and staff, for public complaints investigated that were finalised in the year ending 31 March 2021.

The most common proceedings type following the investigation of a public complaint allegation against police officers was a meeting, with 48% of allegations which were referred to proceedings resulting in a meeting. A further 48% were referred to a hearing. Only 4% of public complaint allegations against police officers resulted in an accelerated hearing.

The most common proceedings type for staff was a hearing, with 64% of public complaint allegations referred to proceedings leading to a hearing. The remaining 36% of public complaint allegations against police staff resulted in a meeting.

In a small number of allegations, the proceedings type was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions but data on unknown proceedings type are included in the accompanying data tables.

Figure 2.1: Proceedings type for public complaints that were deemed to require investigation, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 6a

Notes:

  1. Data related to proceedings type was not available in the Centurion report for cases handled under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012. For cases handled under these regulations, the proceedings type has been taken from the ‘Latest Assessment Decision’ field.
  2. A small number of allegations did not have a proceedings type. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.
  3. Multiple allegations against one officer or staff member may result in multiple proceedings.

2.5 Outcomes

Misconduct meetings

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 177 public complaint allegations against police officers went to a misconduct meeting. The most common outcome at a misconduct meeting for officers was a written warning, with 37% of meetings involving officers resulting in this outcome. Management advice was given in 24% of meetings.

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 16 public complaint allegations against police staff went to a misconduct meeting. Of those, where the outcome was known, the most common outcome at a misconduct meeting for staff was a written warning, with 11 meetings involving staff resulting in this outcome. A further 2 resulted in a verbal warning and 2 resulted in no action.

Misconduct hearings

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 176 public complaint allegations against police officers went to a misconduct hearing. The most common outcome at a misconduct hearing for officers was dismissal, with 35% of hearings involving officers resulting in this outcome. A written warning was given in 17% of hearings.

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 28 public complaint allegations against police staff went to a misconduct hearing. The most common outcome at a misconduct hearing for police staff was dismissal, with 23 of misconduct hearings involving police staff resulting in this outcome, followed by 2 where the member of staff would have been dismissed if they were still in service when the judgement was made. A further 1 resulted in a written warning and 2 cases were dismissed.

Accelerated misconduct hearings

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 13 public complaint allegations against police officers went to an accelerated misconduct hearing. The most common outcome at an accelerated misconduct hearing for officers was dismissal, with 62% of accelerated misconduct hearings involving officers resulting in this outcome, followed by 38% where the officer would have been dismissed if they were still in service when the judgement was made.

In a small number of allegations, the outcome was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions. Data on not known outcomes and other outcomes not listed above are included in the accompanying data tables.

2.6 Demographics of individuals subject to a complaint

Across the 43 territorial forces in England and Wales, there were 26,294 police officers and 2,578 police staff involved in public complaint cases deemed to require investigation and were finalised in the year ending 31 March 2021. These data include unique individuals involved in public complaint cases. People can be involved in multiple cases and have multiple allegations against them. On average, there were 1.7 allegations against police officers and 1.4 allegations against police staff.

Figure 2.2 shows the gender of individuals involved in public complaints. Of the police officers involved in public complaints, where their gender is known, 75% (16,322) were male and 25% (5,420) were female. Of the police staff involved in public complaints, where their gender is known, 46% (998) were male and 54% (1,192) were female. The proportion of officers and staff involved in public complaints who were male was higher than the proportion of officers and staff in the police service who were male (67% and 39% respectively) as at 31 March 2021.

Figure 2.2: Gender of individuals involved in public complaints, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 8a

Notes:

  1. People can be involved in multiple cases and have multiple allegations against them. If a person is involved in multiple allegations or cases, they will only be counted once.
  2. For a small number of individuals their gender was not known. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.

Figure 2.3 shows the self-defined ethnicity of individuals involved in public complaints, however, data on ethnicity is not well completed on Centurion. The ethnicity of 56% of police officers and 55% of police staff involved in public complaints was known.

Of the police officers involved in public complaints, where their ethnicity is known, 95% (13,964) were white and 5% (670) were ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities). Of the police staff involved in public complaints, where their ethnicity is known, 96% (1,362) were white and 4% (64) were ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities). The proportion of officers and staff involved in public complaints who identify as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) was lower than the proportion of officers and staff in the police service who identify as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) both at 8%.

Figure 2.3: Self-defined ethnicity of individuals involved in public complaints, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 9a

Notes:

  1. People can be involved in multiple cases and have multiple allegations against them. If a person is involved in multiple allegations or cases, they will only be counted once.
  2. For a large number of individuals their ethnicity was not known. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.

3. Conduct matters

3.1 Introduction

Conduct matters are where there is an indication that the person serving with the police may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner which would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.

In carrying out their duties, those serving within the police are expected to maintain the highest standards of professional behaviour as set out in Schedule 2 of the Conduct Regulations and associated police staff misconduct procedures.

Conduct matters are handled in line with the appropriate legislation for when the matter came to the force’s attention, either under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012 when the matter came to the force’s attention on or prior to 31st January 2020; or under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020 when the matter came to the force’s attention on or after 1st February 2020. These dates differ slightly for members of police staff.

Where an internal conduct allegation is made, the appropriate authority must first conduct a severity assessment to decide whether, if proven, the allegation would amount to misconduct, gross misconduct or neither. Under current legislation, misconduct is defined as a breach of the standards of professional behaviour which is so serious as to justify disciplinary action. In practice, this means that it justifies at least a written warning. But under the 2012 regulations, misconduct was defined as any breach of those standards.

Given the change in definition, any assessment that the matter would amount to misconduct means that it must now be investigated, whereas previously other action could be taken. If the appropriate authority now determines that the allegation would not amount to misconduct, it must then assess whether to refer the matter to be handled under the reflective practice review process, to be dealt with under the relevant performance procedures or to take no further action.

At the conclusion of an investigation, the appropriate authority must determine whether or not the individual has a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct and, if so, whether that individual should be referred to disciplinary proceedings.

The case to answer decision is whether there is sufficient evidence upon which a reasonable misconduct meeting or hearing panel could make a finding of misconduct or gross misconduct, on the balance of probabilities.

Proceedings can take the form of either a misconduct meeting where the matter amounts to misconduct, or a misconduct hearing where the matter amounts to gross misconduct or where there was a final written warning in place at the time of the severity assessment. In addition, officers can also be referred to an accelerated misconduct hearing under certain circumstances. The specific processes and composition of those chairing proceedings differ slightly between police officers and police staff. This includes the fact that misconduct hearings for police officers are chaired by independent legally qualified chairs and there is a presumption for them to be held in public. At the end of disciplinary proceedings, it is determined whether an individual’s conduct amounts to misconduct or gross misconduct; and, if so, the individual is sanctioned accordingly.

Further guidance about the disciplinary system for conduct matters can be found in the statutory guidance issued by the Home Office.

3.2 Conduct matter cases

In the year ending 31 March 2021, the police finalised 1,675 conduct matters involving police officers and 592 involving police staff.

3.3 Allegations

Each conduct matter case can include multiple allegations. The conduct matters investigated and finalised in the year ending 31 March 2021, involved 3,584 allegations (an average of 2.1 allegations per conduct matter) raised against police officers and 1,196 allegations (an average of 2.0 allegations per conduct matter) raised against police staff[footnote 6].

Initial result

For each allegation it is determined whether there is a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct. Figure 3.1 shows whether the allegations raised against police officers and police staff resulted in a case to answer.

For conduct matters against police officers, around half of allegations (49%) resulted in no case to answer, and the other half (49%) resulted in a case to answer. A small number of allegations (2%) were discontinued where an investigation into a recordable conduct matter was suspended.

For conduct matters against police staff, in 37% of the allegations there was no case to answer and in 59% of allegations there was a case to answer. A small number of allegations (4%) were discontinued.

In a small number of allegations, the result was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions but data on unknown results are included in the accompanying data tables.

Figure 3.1: Result following an allegation in conduct matter cases that were deemed to require investigation, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 4b

Notes:

  1. An allegation can be raised against multiple people. The allegation against each individual is counted in this table as each allegation could have a different result.
  2. A small number of allegations did not have an allegation result. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.

Action taken

Table 3.1 shows the action taken following conduct matter allegations against police officers and police staff. Following allegations against police officers no action was taken in 34% of cases, followed by 28% of allegations which were referred to proceedings. Not all behaviour which falls short of the standards of professional behaviour engages the discipline system and is referred to proceedings. Other processes, either the reflective practice review process or unsatisfactory performance procedures, may be initiated when such behaviour is identified that does not warrant disciplinary action. Of the allegations against police officers 23% were referred to the reflective practice review process or learning from reflection and 1% taken to unsatisfactory performance procedures. ‘Other action’ was taken in 12% of allegations which includes any action not listed, such as management action or words of advice. In a small number of cases (2%) the officer retired or resigned before an action could be decided.

In 43% of allegations against police staff the resulting action was a referral to proceedings, followed by 34% of allegations where no action was taken. In 10% of allegations ‘other action’ was taken such as management action or words of advice, and 9% were referred to the reflective practice review process or learning from reflection. In some allegations (4%) the member of police staff retired or resigned before an action could be decided.

In a small number of allegations, the action taken was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions but data on unknown actions are included in the accompanying data tables.

Table 3.1: Action taken following an allegation in conduct matter cases that were deemed to require investigation, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Action taken following a conduct matter allegation Police officers Proportion of all actions (%) Police staff Proportion of all actions (%)
Referral to proceedings 1,012 28.2 519 43.4
Reflective practice review process 800 22.3 71 5.9
Learning from reflection 29 0.8 34 2.8
Unsatisfactory performance procedures 27 0.8 0 0.0
Other action 443 12.4 125 10.5
No action 1,210 33.8 402 33.6
Retired or resigned 63 1.8 44 3.7
Total 3,584 100.0 1,195 100.0
Not known 0   1  

Source: Table 5b

Notes:

  1. An allegation can be raised against multiple people, the allegation against each individual is counted in this table as each allegation could have a different result.
  2. ‘Other action’ includes any action not listed such as management action or words of advice.
  3. A small number of allegations did not have an allegation action these have been included in ‘not known’.

3.4 Proceedings type

For cases referred to formal proceedings the proceedings type will depend on the severity of the allegation:

  • a misconduct meeting is held where there is a case to answer in respect of misconduct
  • a misconduct hearing is held when there is a case to answer in respect of gross misconduct (or where the individual had a final written in place at the time of initial severity assessment)
  • an accelerated hearing (previously known as a special case hearing) is a fast-tracked misconduct hearing held when there is already sufficient evidence that the officer has committed gross misconduct and it is in the public interest for the officer to be dismissed without delay

Figure 3.2 shows the proceedings type (meeting, hearing or accelerated hearing), for police officers and police staff, following the investigation and finalising of conduct matters in the year ending 31 March 2021.

The most common proceedings type following the investigation of a conduct matter for police officers was a meeting, with 45% of allegations which were referred to proceedings resulting in a meeting, followed by 44% of allegations resulting in a hearing. Only 11% of conduct matter allegations against police officers resulted in an accelerated hearing.

The most common proceedings type for staff was a hearing, with 64% of conduct matter allegations referred to proceedings leading to a hearing. The remaining 36% of conduct matter allegations resulted in a meeting.

In a small number of allegations, the proceedings type was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions but data on unknown proceedings type are included in the accompanying data tables.

Figure 3.2: Proceedings type of conduct matters that were deemed to require investigation, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 6b

Notes:

  1. Data related to proceedings type was not available in the Centurion report for cases handled under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012. For cases handled under these regulations, the proceedings type has been taken from the ‘Latest Assessment Decision’ field.
  2. A small number of allegations did not have a proceedings type. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.
  3. Multiple allegations against one officer or staff member may result in multiple proceedings.

3.5 Outcomes

Misconduct meetings

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 449 conduct matter allegations against police officers went to a misconduct meeting. The most common outcome at a misconduct meeting for officers was a written warning, with 67% of meetings involving officers resulting in this outcome. Management advice was given in 9% of meetings.

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 184 conduct matter allegations against police staff went to a misconduct meeting. The most common outcome at a misconduct meeting for staff was a written warning, with 78% of meetings involving staff resulting in this outcome. A further 11% resulted in a verbal warning.

Misconduct hearings

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 446 conduct matter allegations against police officers went to a misconduct hearing. The most common outcome at a misconduct hearing for officers was dismissal, with 36% of hearings involving officers resulting in this outcome, followed by 23% where the officer would have been dismissed if they were still in service when the judgement was made. A written warning was given in 20% of hearings.

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 326 conduct matter allegations against police staff went to a misconduct hearing. The most common outcome at a misconduct hearing for police staff was dismissal, with 48% of misconduct hearings involving police staff resulting in this outcome. A further 21% resulted in a written warning and 18% where the member of staff would have been dismissed if they were still in service when the judgement was made.

Accelerated misconduct hearings

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 110 conduct matter allegations against police officers went to an accelerated misconduct hearing. The most common outcome at an accelerated misconduct hearing for officers was dismissal, with 49% of accelerated misconduct hearings involving officers resulting in this outcome. Followed by a further 44% where the officer would have been dismissed if they were still in service when the judgement was made.

In a small number of allegations, the outcome was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions. Data on not known outcomes and other outcomes not listed above are included in the accompanying data tables.

3.6 Demographics of individuals subject to a conduct matter

Across the 43 territorial forces in England and Wales there were 2,036 police officers and 649 police staff involved in conduct matter cases investigated in the year ending 31 March 2021. These data include unique individuals involved in conduct matter cases. People can be involved in multiple cases and have multiple allegations against them. On average, both police officers and police staff had 1.8 conduct matter allegations against them.

Figure 3.3 shows the gender of individuals involved in conduct matters. Of the police officers involved in conduct matters, where their gender is known, 76% (1,530) were male and 24% (475) were female. Of the police staff involved in conduct matters, where their gender is known, 53% (340) were male and 47% (307) were female. The proportion of officers and staff involved in conduct matters who were male was higher than the proportion of officers and staff in the police service who were male (67% and 39% respectively) as at 31 March 2021.

Figure 3.3: Gender of individuals involved in conduct matters investigated, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 8b

Notes:

  1. People can be involved in multiple cases and have multiple allegations against them. If a person is involved in multiple allegations or cases, they will only be counted once.
  2. For a small number of individuals their gender was not known. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.

Figure 3.4 shows the self-defined ethnicity of individuals involved in conduct matters. Data on ethnicity is not well completed on Centurion. The ethnicity of 72% of police officers and 76% of staff involved in conduct matters was known.

Of the police officers involved in conduct matters, where their ethnicity is known, 93% (1,364) were white and 7% (97) were ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities). Of the police staff involved in conduct matters, where their ethnicity is known, 89% (438) were white and 11% (52) were ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities). The proportion of officers involved in conduct matters who identify as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) was slightly lower than the proportion of officers in the police service who identify as such (8%). The proportion of police staff involved in conduct matters who identify as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) was higher than the proportion of police staff in the police service who identify as such (8%).

Figure 3.4: Ethnicity of individuals involved in conduct matters investigated, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 9b

Notes:

  1. People can be involved in multiple cases and have multiple allegations against them. If a person is involved in multiple allegations or cases, they will only be counted once.
  2. For a large number of individuals their ethnicity was not known. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.

4. Recordable conduct matters

4.1 Introduction

In carrying out their duties, those serving with the police are expected to maintain the highest standards of professional behaviour. A conduct matter, as set out in chapter 3, is any matter that is not and has not been the subject of a complaint, which indicates that a person serving with the police may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in such a way that would justify disciplinary proceedings.

A recordable conduct matter is a distinct category[footnote 7] where it:

  • appears to have resulted in the death or serious injury of any person;
  • has had an adverse effect on a member of the public; or
  • meets any of the criteria set out in regulation 7 of the Complaints Regulations; this includes serious assaults, sexual offences and corruption

Recordable conduct matters must be referred to the IOPC. The IOPC will decide whether the matters referred to them should be investigated and how, via:

  • local investigation whereby the force PSD can handle the matter and choose whether an investigation is appropriate
  • directed investigation whereby the force PSD conducts the investigation based on parameters set out by the IOPC
  • independent investigation whereby the IOPC investigates the matter itself

Recordable conduct matters are handled under the same legislation as complaints (the Police Reform Act 2002 and the Complaints Regulations) as opposed to the Conduct Regulations.

Further information about the definitions of key terms can be found in chapter 7 of this publication.

4.2 Recordable conduct matter cases

There were 940 recordable conduct matter cases involving police officers and 266 involving police staff[footnote 8] deemed to require investigation (through local, directed or independent investigation) that were finalised (either by the police force or the IOPC) in the year ending 31 March 2021.

4.3 Allegations

A recordable conduct matter case can include multiple allegations. The 940 recordable conduct cases involving police officers involved a total of 2,317 allegations (an average of 2.5 allegations per recordable conduct matter) and the 266 recordable conduct matter cases involving police staff involved a total of 599 allegations (an average of 2.3 allegations per recordable conduct matter).

Initial result

For each allegation it is determined whether there is a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct. Figure 4.1 shows of the allegations raised against police officers and police staff whether there was a case to answer.

For recordable conduct matters against police officers, in 50% of the allegations there was not a case to answer and in 47% of allegations there was a case to answer. A small number of allegations (3%) were discontinued where an investigation into a recordable conduct matter was suspended.

For recordable conduct matters against police staff, in 29% of the allegations there was not a case to answer and in 68% of allegations there was a case to answer. A small number of allegations (3%) were discontinued.

In a small number of allegations, the result was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions but data on unknown results are included in the accompanying data tables.

Figure 4.1: Result following an allegation in recordable conduct matter cases that were deemed to require investigation, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 4c

Notes:

  1. An allegation can be raised against multiple people. The allegation against each individual is counted in this table as each allegation could have a different result.
  2. A small number of allegations did not have an allegation result. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.

Action taken

Table 4.1 shows what action was taken following allegations from recordable conduct matters against police officers and police staff. Of the allegations against police officers no action was taken in 42%, followed by 33% which were referred to proceedings. Not all behaviour which falls short of the standards of professional behaviour engages the discipline system and is referred to proceedings. Other processes, either the reflective practice review process or unsatisfactory performance procedures, may be initiated when such behaviour is identified that does not warrant disciplinary action. Of the allegations against police officers 9% were referred to the reflective practice review process or learning from reflection. ‘Other action’ was taken in 13% of allegations which includes any action not listed, such as management action or words of advice. In a small number of cases (3%) the officer retired or resigned before an action could be decided.

Of recordable conduct matter allegations against police staff, half (50%) were referred to proceedings, followed by 30% where no action was taken. In 8% of allegations ‘other action’ was taken and 5% were referred to the reflective practice review process or learning from reflection. In some allegations (6%) the member of police staff retired or resigned before an action could be decided.

Table 4.1: Action taken following an allegation in recordable conduct matter cases that were deemed to require investigation, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Action taken following a recordable conduct allegation Police officers Proportion of all actions (%) Police staff Proportion of all actions (%)
Referral to proceedings 766 33.1 299 50.1
Reflective practice review process 194 8.4 28 4.7
Learning from reflection 9 0.4 4 0.7
Unsatisfactory performance procedures 8 0.3 0 0.0
Other action 302 13.1 49 8.2
No action 970 41.9 182 30.5
Retired or resigned 64 2.8 35 5.9
Total 2,313 100.0 597 100.0
Not known 4   2  

Source: Table 5c

Notes:

  1. An allegation can be raised against multiple people, the allegation against each individual is counted in this table as each allegation could have a different result.
  2. ‘Other action’ includes any action not listed, such as, management action or words of advice.
  3. A small number of allegations did not have an allegation action, these have been included in ‘not known’.

4.4 Proceedings type

As with complaints and conduct matters, for cases referred to formal proceedings the proceedings type will depend on the severity of the allegation:

  • a misconduct meeting is held where there is a case to answer in respect of misconduct
  • a misconduct hearing is held when there is a case to answer in respect of gross misconduct (or where the individual had a final written in place at the time of initial severity assessment)
  • an accelerated hearing (previously known as a special case hearing) is a fast-tracked misconduct hearing held when there is already sufficient evidence that the officer has committed gross misconduct and it is in the public interest for the officer to be dismissed without delay

Figure 4.2 shows the proceedings type (meeting, hearing or accelerated hearing), for police officers and police staff, following recordable conduct matters received, investigated and finalised in the year ending 31 March 2021.

The most common proceedings type for police officers as a result of a recordable conduct matter was a hearing. Of all recordable conduct matter allegations referred to proceedings, 53% proceeded to a hearing. A further 32% of recordable conduct matter allegations against police officers resulted in meeting and 15% resulted in an accelerated hearing.

The most common proceedings type for police staff in is a hearing, 85% of recordable conduct matter allegations referred to proceedings led to a hearing. The remaining 15% of recordable conduct matter allegations against police staff resulted in a meeting.

In a small number of allegations, the proceedings type was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions but data on unknown proceedings type are included in the accompanying data tables.

Figure 4.2: Proceedings type of recordable conduct matters recorded that were deemed to require investigation, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 6c

Notes:

  1. Data related to proceedings type was not available in the Centurion report for cases handled under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012. For cases handled under these regulations, the proceedings type has been taken from the ‘Latest Assessment Decision’ field.

  2. A small number of allegations did not have a proceedings type. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.

  3. Multiple allegations against one officer or staff member may result in multiple proceedings.

4.5 Outcomes

Misconduct meetings

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 239 recordable conduct matter allegations against police officers went to a misconduct meeting. The most common outcome at a misconduct meeting for officers was a written warning, with over half (55%) of meetings involving officers resulting in this outcome. Management advice was given in 16% of meetings.

Misconduct hearings

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 400 recordable conduct matterallegations against police officers went to a misconduct hearing. The most common outcome at a misconduct hearing for officers was dismissal, with 30% of hearings involving officers resulting in this outcome, followed by 26% where the officer would have been dismissed if they were still in service when the judgement was made. A written warning was given in 21% of hearings.

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 243 conduct matter allegations against police staff went to a misconduct hearing. The most common outcome at a misconduct hearing for police staff was dismissal, with 36% of misconduct hearings involving police staff resulting in this outcome, followed by 29% where the member of staff would have been dismissed if they were still in service when the judgement was made. A further 27% resulted in a written warning.

Accelerated misconduct hearings

In the year ending 31 March 2021, 112 recordable conduct matter allegations against police officers went to an accelerated misconduct hearing. The most common outcome at an accelerated misconduct hearing for officers was dismissal, with 47% of accelerated misconduct hearings involving officers resulting in this outcome, followed by 45% where the officer would have been dismissed if they were still in service when the judgement was made.

In a small number of allegations, the outcome was not known. These allegations have been excluded when calculating these proportions. Data on not known outcomes and other outcomes not listed above are included in the accompanying data tables.

4.6 Demographics of individuals subject to a recordable conduct matter

Across the 43 territorial forces in England and Wales, there were 1,237 police officers and 288 police staff involved in recordable conduct matter cases that were deemed to require investigation and were finalised in the year ending 31 March 2021. These data include unique individuals involved in recordable conduct matter cases. People can be involved in multiple cases and have multiple allegations against them. On average, there were 1.9 allegations against police officers and 2.1 allegations against police staff.

Figure 4.3 shows the gender of individuals involved in recordable conduct matters. Of the police officers involved in recordable conduct matters, where their gender is known, 82% (989) were male and 18% (223) were female. Of the police staff involved in public recordable conduct matters, where their gender is known, 64% (185) were male and 36% (102) were female. The proportion of officers and staff involved in recordable conduct matters that were male was higher than the proportion of officers and staff in the police service that were male (67% and 39% respectively) as at 31 March 2021.

Figure 4.3: Gender of individuals involved in recordable conduct matters, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 8c

Notes:

  1. People can be involved in multiple cases and have multiple allegations against them. If a person is involved in multiple allegations or cases, they will only be counted once.
  2. For a small number of individuals their gender was not known. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.

Figure 4.4 shows the self-defined ethnicity of individuals involved in recordable conduct matters. Data on ethnicity is not well completed on Centurion. The ethnicity of 43% of police officers and 76% of police staff involved in recordable conduct matters was known.

Of the police officers involved in recordable conduct matters, where their ethnicity is known, 93% (492) were white and 7% (39) were ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities). The proportion of officers involved in recordable conduct matters who identify as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) was slightly lower than the proportion (8%) of officers in the police service who identify as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) as at 31 March 2021.

Of the police staff involved in recordable conduct matters, where their ethnicity is known, 86% (188) were white and 14% (31) were ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities). The proportion of police staff involved in recordable conduct matters who identify as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) was higher than the proportion of staff (8%) in the police service who identify as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) as at 31 March 2021.

Figure 4.4: Self-defined ethnicity of individuals involved in recordable conduct matters, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021

Source: Table 9c

Notes:

  1. People can be involved in multiple cases and have multiple allegations against them. If a person is involved in multiple allegations or cases, they will only be counted once.
  2. For a large number of individuals their ethnicity was not known. These have been excluded from the chart but are included in the accompanying data tables.

5. Data limitations

5.1 Introduction

This is the first release of the Police misconduct, England and Wales publication series. These data have been designated as Experimental Statistics, to acknowledge that further development is currently taking place. The Home Office will continue to develop these statistics in future to provide more detailed published statistics.

5.2 Data source

The data referred to in this report are obtained from Centurion, a tool for the recording and processing of professional standards data within police forces, used by each of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. However, forces may use different versions of the Centurion system.

Greater Manchester Police use two systems (Centurion and Webfocus) to capture professional standards data. Data for Greater Manchester Police in this report refers only to data recorded on Centurion. This is therefore likely an undercount of public complaints, conduct matters and recordable conduct matters recorded.

While data have undergone quality assurance checks, as with all administrative datasets used for the production of statistics, there are known limitations and quality issues to consider. Data in this report are a reflection of cases as recorded on the Centurion system, and users should bear in mind the limitations highlighted throughout this report when interpreting the data.

5.3 Limitations of the data

In February 2020, the Government introduced new legislation to strengthen the police complaints and discipline systems. These changes brought in new processes to the handling of police complaints and conduct matters. Given the significant changes to the system it would not be meaningful to compare these data to previous years.

The data referred to in this report are recorded on Centurion. Whilst each of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales use Centurion, forces may use different versions. In addition, police forces updated their systems at different times following amendments to the Conduct Regulations, which may impact on data in this report.

The flexibility of the recording, management and processing of professional standards data means there will be different ways to handle complaints and conduct matters in a reasonable and proportionate manner, depending on the circumstance of each case. Some forces will choose to handle matters in a different way to other forces.

The data referred to in this report should not be used to measure the total volume of complaints, conduct matters, or recordable conduct matters received by the police in England and Wales. This data only includes public complaints, conduct matters and recordable conduct matters that were deemed to require investigation as well as finalised in the year ending 31 March 2021, and do not show the full picture of complaints received or conduct matters or recordable conduct matters raised. For this reason figures quoted in this report are not directly comparable to data published by the IOPC.

5.4 Known issues

Recording of conduct matters against police staff

Staff data should be used with caution, as they may be incomplete and not directly comparable across forces. The majority of police forces use Centurion to record conduct matters against police staff. However, a number of forces do not handle police staff discipline within their PSDs, instead these matters are dealt with by Human Resource (HR) departments. Matters dealt with by HR departments may not be recorded on Centurion. Some PSDs will record conduct matters against staff on Centurion even though their department is not investigating the case. Any complaints involving police staff will be recorded on Centurion as the regulations dictate this.

“Investigating” field for data extraction

Data in this release covers cases recorded by the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales in the year ending 31 March 2021 that were deemed serious enough to require investigation. To extract the required data from Centurion, a filter is applied to only export those cases that are selected from a drop-down field as “investigating”. Whilst this field is mandatory, there is a risk that forces might have incorrectly selected this field with a different response and some cases are not captured in the data extraction. In addition, forces may have incorrectly selected “investigating” resulting in the presence of cases that should be excluded from the report.

Proceedings type for cases handled under 2012 Regulations

Data on the type of proceedings is extracted from the “Proceedings Type” field in Centurion. However, this field was not available in the Centurion report for cases handled under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012. For cases handled under these regulations, the proceedings type has instead been populated from the “Latest Assessment Decision” field, which was the next most appropriate field. The Home Office will work with Force Information Systems who maintain the Centurion system to improve the Centurion report to include the proceedings type for all cases in future years.

Information on “gender”

Currently, the field on “gender” in the Centurion system includes the categories “male”, “female”, “other” and “not known”. However, these categories are usually associated with the sex of an individual. “Sex” can be considered to refer to whether someone is male or female based on their physiology, while “gender” usually represents a social construct or sense of self that takes a wider range of forms. In reality, the Centurion system is likely collecting a mix of data on gender and sex. For the purpose of this report we are reporting the data in the format they are collected, and are working to bring these data in line with the Government Statistical Service sex and gender harmonisation standards.

Missing data: protected characteristics

The protected characteristics of individuals with a public complaint, conduct matter or recordable conduct matter raised against them are mandatory on Centurion. However, the self-defined gender and ethnicity of some individuals is unknown. Forces can link their Centurion system to their HR system to pull across this information, but currently these fields are incomplete.

Missing data: empty values

Unknown responses were identified whilst quality assuring the data, which is not unusual for a large operational and administrative dataset like Centurion. For some metrics analysed in this report the totals do not match those quoted elsewhere in this report. For instance, the total number of allegations does not match when broken down by allegation action, allegation result or proceedings type as these unknown responses have been excluded. The Home Office will continue to work with forces to improve the quality of these statistics in future to provide more detailed published statistics.

5.5 Report filters

The data in this report are based on cases finalised in the financial year, irrespective of when the case was received. This means cases may have been handled under either the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012 (when the matter came to the force’s attention on or prior to 31st January 2020), or under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020 (when the matter came to the force’s attention on or after 1st February 2020). The data presented includes cases finalised under both legislations. Changes to the regulations means that decisions on how to handle cases prior to 1st February 2020 may differ to the newer regulations.

6. Additional data

6.1 Public complaints

Data on cases relating to public complaints in this release should not be used to measure the total volume of complaints received by the police in England and Wales. This data includes only complaints that were investigated and do not show the full picture of complaints received.

A more reliable data source for the total volume of complaints is published by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The IOPC collects and publishes data on complaints against the police in England and Wales but is collected on a different basis to the data covered in this chapter. The IOPC data covers the total number of complaints, whereas data in this chapter related to complaints that were investigated.

The latest annual Police complaints statistics for the year ending March 2020 are published by the IOPC. The IOPC have also released Experimental Statistics for the year ending March 2021.

6.2 Death or serious injury (DSI)

DSI matters relate to any circumstance (unless they have been subject of a complaint or amount to a conduct matter) where a death or serious injury occurs while a person either:

  • is under arrest, or detained in police custody
  • before or at the time of their death, had contact (directly or indirectly) with a person serving within the police who was acting in the execution of their duties

There must be an indication that the contact may have caused – whether directly or indirectly – or contributed to the death or serious injury.

DSI matters must be recorded and referred to the IOPC. The IOPC consider the circumstances of DSI matters and decides whether an investigation is necessary and, if so, the appropriate mode of investigation.

Data related to DSI matters is published by the IOPC.

7. Glossary

Accelerated misconduct hearing – a hearing brought when there is sufficient evidence (on the balance of probabilities) that the conduct of the officer concerned constitutes gross misconduct and that it is in the public interest that the officer concerned ceases to be a member of a police force or a special constable without delay.

Appropriate authority – for a person serving with the police (who is not the chief officer or acting chief officer), the appropriate authority is the chief officer of the force concerned.

Allegation – a claim relating to a complaint, conduct matter or practice requiring improvement.

Case to answer decision – a determination as to whether there is sufficient evidence upon which a reasonable misconduct meeting or hearing panel could make a finding of misconduct or gross misconduct, on the balance of probabilities.

Conduct matter – any matter that is not and has not been the subject of a complaint, which indicates that a person serving with the police may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in such a way that would justify disciplinary proceedings.

Criminal proceedings – the presumption is that action for misconduct should be taken prior to, or in parallel with, any criminal proceedings, unless it is determined that doing so would prejudice any criminal proceedings.

Death or serious injury matters – any circumstances (unless the circumstances are or have been the subject of a complaint or amount to a conduct matter) in, or as a result of which, a person has died or sustained serious injury and the person:

  • had been arrested by a person serving with the police
  • was otherwise detained in police custody
  • at or before the time of the death or serious injury the person had contact, whether direct or indirect, with a person serving with the police who was acting in the execution of their duties and there is an indication that the contact may have caused (whether directly or indirectly) or contributed to the death or serious injury

Whereby serious injury means a fracture, a deep cut, a deep laceration or an injury causing damage to an internal organ or the impairment of any bodily function.

Directed investigation – an investigation conducted by the appropriate authority under the direction and control of the IOPC. The IOPC directs the investigation in terms of its scope, investigative strategy and findings of the report.

Disciplinary action – either a written warning, final written warning, reduction in rank or dismissal without notice. Under the 2012 regulations this included management advice but did not allow reduction in rank. Police staff can also be dismissed with notice, but reduction in rank is not an available sanction.

Discontinuance – where forces are able to end an ongoing investigation into a complaint in certain circumstances, such as where a complainant had refused to co-operate to the extent it was not reasonably practicable to continue with the investigation.

Dismissal – a sanction effective immediately following a finding that misconduct has been proven and when an officer either is already on a final warning, has been recently demoted or when the offending behaviour is so serious it justifies it. The officer is unable to work in the police again.

Final written warnings – a sanction following a finding that misconduct or gross misconduct has been proven which remains on the officer’s record for five years. Gross misconduct – a breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour that is so serious as to justify dismissal.

Independent investigation – an investigation undertaken by the IOPC itself into a matter referred to them.

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) – the body that oversees the police complaints system and conducts investigations into the most serious matters.

Local investigation – an investigation conducted by the appropriate authority, usually a force PSD, on its own behalf.

Misconduct – a breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour that is so serious as to justify disciplinary action. Under the 2012 regulations (and earlier police staff misconduct procedures), this was defined as any breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour.

Misconduct hearing – a hearing to determine whether the conduct of an officer amounts to misconduct or gross misconduct or neither and whether disciplinary action should be imposed.

Misconduct meeting – a meeting to determine whether the conduct of an officer amounts to misconduct or not and whether disciplinary action should be imposed.

Misconduct proceedings – the formal process to hear cases, initiated when it is determined that an officer or member of police staff has a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct.

Professional Standards Department – a specialist team, within police forces, responsible for handling most complaint and conduct matters for their force.

Public complaint – an expression of dissatisfaction with a police force that is expressed by or on behalf of a member of the public.

Recordable conduct matter – a matter which has been recorded under the Police Reform Act 2002.

Reduction in rank – a sanction imposed following a finding that gross misconduct has been proven resulting in an officer being reduced in their substantive rank.

Reflective practice review process – the process set out in part 6 of the Conduct Regulations to handle Practice Requiring Improvement. A similar, non-statutory process exists for police staff. Other non-statutory learning outcomes also exist for all those serving with the police. These processes are designed to deal with allegations of underperformance or conduct that does not amount to misconduct or gross misconduct, which falls short of the expectations of the public and the police service.

Severity assessment – determines whether the conduct, if proved, would amount to misconduct, gross misconduct or neither and, if the conduct were subject to proceedings, what form those proceedings would be likely to take.

Unsatisfactory performance procedures – a formal staged process for demonstrating an improvement in performance after an officer fails to perform the duties of the role or rank they are currently undertaking to a satisfactory standard or level. There are equivalent performance procedures for members of police staff. Written warnings – a sanction following a finding that misconduct has been proven which remains on the officer’s record for 18 months.

  1. Greater Manchester Police use two systems (Centurion and Webfocus) to capture professional standards data. Data for Greater Manchester Police in this report refers only to data recorded on Centurion. This is therefore likely an undercount of public complaints, conduct matters and recordable conduct matters received. 

  2. The term ‘police officer’ throughout this report includes special constables. 

  3. The term ‘police staff’ throughout this report includes civilian staff, Police Community Support Officers (PSCOs), designated officers and traffic wardens. It does not include contractors or police support volunteers. 

  4. Complaints or conduct matters can be raised about a person who has ceased serving for the police since the time of the conduct. 

  5. Where a case involves both worker types, an officer and staff member, it will be counted twice under each worker type. 

  6. Where a case involves both worker types, an officer and staff member, it will be counted twice under each worker type. 

  7. Recordable conduct matters are not a subset of conduct matters. 

  8. Where a case involves both worker types, an officer and staff member, it will be counted twice under each worker type.