By Tony O’Reilly-
Gross misconduct proceedings against police officers should be allowed to continue after they resign to “promote transparency and maintain public confidence”, a Scottish government public consultation has determined.
The progressive initiative which would see proceedings continue even after an officer leaves their job in the course of an investigation into their conduct, was among the recommendations of Dame Elish Angiolini’s(pictured) independent review into how police complaints and allegations of misconduct should be handled.
The Law graduate who in 1992 she moved to Crown Office to work as part of the Lord Advocate’s Secretariat, where she developed her now long-standing interest in improving the support offered to vulnerable victims and witnesses.
Anglioni was appointed Head of Policy in the Crown Office, with responsibility for the development of policy across all functions of the Department. She is also credited with helping the department prepare for devolution and was involved in the preparation of the Scotland Act 1998. At the same time, she was responsible for the department’s preparations for the introduction of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Scotland is taking the leading role in ensuring high standards of accountability in its police force- outshining the relatively inadequate disciplinary measures in place in other parts of the Uk in making sure no offending officers escape full accountability when the bring their profession to disrepute.
Numerous police officers have acted with impunity over the years, with the IOPC and other powers insisting that it is sufficient where offending officers leave the job before they can be dealt with by the tribunal.
The recommendations seek to restore public confidence in the integrity of the Scottish police force and encourage higher standards that limit unprofessional conduct in the force.
There was also broad public support for a statutory ethical code for officers, a requirement for Police Scotland to participate openly and promptly in investigations, and for enhanced powers for the Scottish Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.
Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans Keith Brown said: “I hugely value the exceptional commitment of Scotland’s dedicated police officers and the valued work they do every day to keep communities safe.
“The policing by consent model that is such a credit to the service can only work where there is trust and confidence in the way officers carry out their duties.
“In the very small minority of incidents that do require investigation this should be done in an open and transparent way that also respects the rights of the police concerned.
“We will carefully consider all of the consultation responses, to help us shape improvements to Scotland’s system of police complaints and misconduct handling.”
The Scottish government said public consultation responses will inform the development of legislation needed to implement some of Dame Elish’s recommendations.
The Police Complaints and Misconduct Handling Bill will be introduced to the Parliament during this 2022/23 parliamentary year.