Page 6 - West Midlands Police Federation_Annual Report18_Neat
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Conduct and performance


      One of the key developments of 2018   The CaPLO team’s work in 2018 included:
      from a conduct perspective was the   Hearings and meetings
      launch – on 8 January - of the Independent   Special case hearings     7
      Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the new   Officers dismissed         6
      watchdog replacing the Independent Police   Final written warning      1
      Complaints Commission (IPCC).
                                           10 misconduct hearings
      In a presentation to the Police Federation’s   No further action, not proven, learning  6
      conference in Birmingham in May, the IOPC’s   Final written warning    1
      director general – Michael Lockwood - said it was
      not just about a change of name but also about a   Dismissed - 2 resigned prior to hearing/dealt   5
      new strategy and a new approach. While obviously   with under new former officer regulations
      appreciative of the sentiment, we do still need to   Note: 3 officers attended 1 hearing – 1 dismissed, 2 not proven –
      see more done to ensure that officers are no longer   hence a total of 12 results from 10 hearings.
      subject to long, drawn-out conduct proceedings,   17 misconduct meetings
      which in some cases, go on for years, causing   No further action, not proven  5
      untold stress and anxiety not just to those under   Management advice  3
      scrutiny but also their families.
                                           Written warning                   5
      New conduct regulations are now expected (due to   Final written warning   4
      Brexit) to come in to force late in 2019 or early 2020.
                                           From a sample of 115 2018 finalised
      Here at West Midlands Police Federation we are   conduct and performance investigations:
      the two full-time Conduct and Performance Liaison   No further action, not proven, learning  55
      Officers (CaPLO). Dave Hadley will work alongside
      George from June 2019 following John’s retirement.  Management action  8
                                           Management advice                 0
      The full-time officials are supported by 17 work-  Written warning     3
      based representatives specialising in advising   Final written warning   3
      members on misconduct, gross misconduct and
      performance issues. They all receive training for   Dismissed          4
      this critical role and meet monthly to discuss cases,   Other (witness statement request and so on)  42
      regulatory changes and any themes and trends.
                                           Of the above sample of 115 conduct and
      As a reminder to members, if you are served with a   performance investigations, 29 of these were
      Regulation Notice advising you of an investigation   carried out by the IOPC.
      into your actions, please sign the document to
      accept service but do not say anything until you   Of these 29 investigations:
      have spoken to one of the CaPLO reps. Your CaPLO   No further action, not proven, learning  15
      will attend any interview you are asked to attend   Management advice     1
      as part of any inquiry and, if there is a criminal   Other (witness statement request and so on)  13
      allegation, they will arrange legal representation.
                                           Professional Standards Department
      The Federation operates a call-out rota so members   recorded complaints
      can contact a trained conduct representative 24/7
      and 365 days a year.                    Year   Complaint  Conduct    Total
                                              2016        921      185     1,106
                                              2017        836      143      979
      By John Tooms and George McDonnell      2018        530      139      669


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