Introduction from Michael Lockwood, Director General
Welcome to this issue of our Roundup. No one could have foreseen the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on us and our respective organisations. At the IOPC, whilst our physical offices are closed, we continue to work to the best of our ability within the parameters of remote working environments and in compliance with Government guidance.
In our role as the oversight body for the police complaints system, it is important we continue to understand what the public are concerned about and what themes are emerging from COVID-19. In this issue you can read about our work with police forces to ensure complaints are being consistently recorded. This will enable us to identify themes and respond to public concerns.
Our recent research highlighted that only around half of young people are confident police will deal fairly with their complaint. In response to this our youth panel recently launched new guidance to explain the complaints system and young people’s rights. Specifically, the guidance provides answers to questions young people frequently ask, such as what the IOPC do, how you can make a complaint to police, what to expect and the possible outcomes. You can read more about this work and access the information on our website.
We also recently published our 2019/20 annual report, which showed ongoing improvement in delivery of changes to the police complaints system, with a third of investigations now completed in under six months, and 83% within 12 months. The report marks the end of the IOPC’s second year. Whilst we are not complacent about the work which still needs to be done, I am pleased with the progress made to date.
Readers may also be interested in our recent announcement that we would focus on race discrimination as a thematic area. Evidence of disproportionality in the use of police powers has long been a concern which impacts on confidence in policing, particularly in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. Given the numbers and the statistics, from areas such as stop and search, taser use, we still need to better understand the causes and what can be done to address this.
Thematic case selection involves independently investigating more cases where race discrimination may be a factor in order to develop a body of evidence to identify systemic issues which should be addressed. We can than recommend if there is a need to change policing policy or practice. You can read more about discrimination case selection on our website.
Until the next issue.
Michael Lockwood
Policing and the pandemic
In our role as the oversight body for the police complaints system, it is vital for us to know what the public are concerned about and what themes are emerging. The introduction of new police powers during the coronavirus pandemic makes this even more important.
We have been working with the College of Policing and forces to capture consistent data about police complaints related to the pandemic. We will then feed this data back to forces and publish it on our website to provide a picture of complaints about the police response.
The data we have gathered so far shows:
- Rural forces with desirable destinations reported increased numbers of visitors in the early days of lockdown. This resulted in high levels of use of the powers associated with restrictions.
- Forces were able to handle most complaints relating to coronavirus satisfactorily by providing an explanation for officers’ actions. Where complaints could not be resolved by an explanation, most of the situations reported needed no further action.
- Many of the complaints that forces and police and crime commissioners have been handling reflect confusion around the restrictions.
- Most complaints centred on a perception of officers being either overzealous in applying the restrictions, or not rigorous enough. There were also complaints that the police themselves were not obeying social distancing.
Investigations news
We are conducting a criminal investigation into serious allegations of misconduct in public office following a referral from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The investigation relates to allegations that officers took inappropriate photographs at a homicide crime scene in Wembley and subsequently shared these with a small number of others. Our investigators arrested two officers, who have been bailed pending further enquiries.
A Hertfordshire Constabulary officer appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on 24 June charged with one count of sexual activity with a child. This follows our managed investigation (now known as a ‘directed investigation’), which was conducted by Hertfordshire Constabulary under our direction and control.
We are conducting a criminal investigation after a Devon and Cornwall Police sergeant allegedly distributed an inappropriate image among a WhatsApp group. The WhatsApp group included a number of police officers and staff. Members of the group are being investigated for their alleged response to the image or their apparent failure to report the matter. The sergeant is also being investigated for gross misconduct for apparently sharing the altered image on 30 May of George Floyd’s arrest in Minneapolis.
An MPS officer who failed to circulate a CCTV image of a suspect in an acid attack for 20 months has a case to answer for misconduct following our investigation. The MPS will now arrange for disciplinary proceedings to take place.
A Surrey Police community support officer has been dismissed without notice following our investigation into allegations he abused his position for sexual purpose. An independent police panel concluded the officer had breached the high standards of professional behaviour expected of police personnel.
Investigations following deaths, serious injuries and police use of force
Police forces must refer to us all deaths or serious injuries that happen during or following police contact. Investigating these matters is one of our key functions.
We released a statement confirming that we are looking at several incidents around police use of force and disproportionality across London following increasing community concerns. Our independent investigations are looking at all the circumstances and whether the force used by officers in each incident was justified and proportionate. We are also looking into complaints that police allegedly acted in a discriminatory manner where these incidents involved black people.
Our investigation following the death of a 35-year-old man in a Torquay police custody suite is continuing. Simeon Francis was found unresponsive in his cell on Wednesday 20 May. He was later pronounced dead and Devon and Cornwall Police referred the matter to us.
We have begun an investigation into the circumstances surrounding a road traffic collision during a police pursuit in Outwood, West Yorkshire in which a man died. Our investigators travelled to the scene, attended post-incident procedures, and have begun gathering relevant evidence.
Read more about our work on police use of force on our website.
Witness appeals – can you help?
We are appealing for witnesses following a non-fatal police shooting in Swindon on Tuesday 16 June. Wiltshire Police were called to an alleged armed robbery in Rivermead Industrial Estate, Westlea. During the incident, a 59-year-old man was shot in the leg by a firearms officer. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. Wiltshire Police reported that one officer also received minor injuries during the incident.
After requesting a voluntary referral from the MPS, we would like to hear from anyone who witnessed a woman being restrained by police officers during a stop and search in Lewisham, south-east London. The woman, who was a passenger in a black Fiesta, was restrained and arrested by a number of officers on Lewisham High Street at around 11:05pm on 9 May.
Investigation summaries published
In June we published summaries of two independent investigations we recently closed. One covered the Humberside police response to a man with a firearm and the other looked at the Wiltshire police response to a woman’s request for a domestic violence disclosure scheme check on her partner.
Engaging with local communities
We have been running regular meetings to engage with local stakeholders in Haringey, north London on our investigation following an incident where a man suffered a life-changing injury after being Tasered. The officer involved is subject to a criminal investigation and has also been served notice of investigation for gross misconduct.
The meetings, run by our Regional Director for London, Sal Naseem, involve a wide range of local stakeholders, including community members, local MP David Lammy, and the Assistant Chief Executive of Haringey Council.
Through these connections, we arranged a training session for stakeholders to raise awareness about Taser. We have also involved some attendees in our wider work, such as providing feedback on learning recommendations following a group of recent investigations involving stop and search.
As a result of this work, we were invited to a community meeting at the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham to discuss issues around the work of the IOPC, BAME communities and policing. This regular engagement will continue until the end of our investigation to inform Haringey stakeholders and monitor community tensions.
We also held a youth engagement event in Haringey with members of our Youth Panel and professionals, such as the CEO of Hackney Voyage, Head of Service Early Help and Prevention, Senior Community Safety & Programme Manager at Haringey Community Gold and specialist outreach workers. The event aimed to engage with specific stakeholders working with young people, due to the nature of the incident and the impact this may have had on youth in the area.
Our Director General’s engagements
Michael Lockwood, our Director General, chaired a Police Officers Staff Association meeting which included policing representatives from the Police Superintendents’ Association, Police Federation and the Association of Chief Police Officers. Michael discussed the way our investigations are running during the current pandemic, and provided an update on our general progress.
Michael met separately with representatives from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and Deborah Coles from INQUEST around disproportionality and use of force. This follows our statement reflecting growing community concerns on these issues. We are calling on police and crime commissioners to take a stronger role in these areas in terms of holding their forces to account.
Our Business Plan for 2020/21 is now available. It includes our strategic priorities and key targets, and sets out the management information we will be monitoring. The plan sets out what we intend to deliver, including:
- sharing learning from our work to support a culture of learning and continuous improvement, and considering opportunities for learning and improvement throughout our investigations
- focusing our work on the areas of policing that are of most concern to the public and police, with race discrimination, near-misses in police custody, mental health, road traffic incidents, domestic abuse and abuse of position for sexual purpose as key priorities in addition to our core work
- working with others to develop more effective ways of working across the wider police complaints system. It is important we improve the timeliness of all parts of the system, including the processes that follow our investigations, which can add considerable time to the conclusion of a case
Investigations started and completed
In June 2020, we completed 83% of the investigations we closed in 12 months or less, compared to 84% in June 2019.
We continue to focus effort on closing older cases, which has had an impact on our recent performance data.
Appeals
*This figure may change as a result of data being recorded after the figures are collated.
The % of upheld appeals is worked out from the number of appeals upheld over the total number of valid appeals completed.
PDF version of our June performance data.
Find out how we are performing against our targets.
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