Long investigations into police conduct take mental health toll on officers and their families

Mark Andrews believes The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is in charge of investigating the actions of police officers, needs to be held to account for the “unacceptable” amount of time it can keep officers under scrutiny.

Mr Andrews said that while his colleagues have no objection at being held accountable for their actions, the IOPC and its investigators spend too long scrutinising their work - sometimes years.

Home Affairs Select Committee MPs are looking into the IOPC’s timescales for investigating police conduct.

Mark said: “The police are governed by strict guidelines around how long an investigation should take and we are held to account when we do not progress it with due diligence. This is only right for all the parties involved in order to reduce anxiety and ultimately provide closure.

“I find it unacceptable the length of time the IOPC takes to draw matters to their conclusion. Even when the incident only has a couple of witnesses and is supported with police body-worn video, they can often take more than 12 months to make a decision.

“Our investigators would be expected to have this done within days or at the most a few weeks.

"I understand the IOPC have heavy workloads but you show me a police officer in the land who doesn’t and they still manage to deal with investigations promptly.

“I have seen the mental health of officers waiting for the IOPC results decline to the point where they are no longer able to remain at work.

"This often leads to long term problems for them and has a significant impact on their families. The IOPC needs to remember, as we do, that behind every case is a human being waiting to get on with their lives.”

As part of the Police Federation of England and Wales’s #TimeLimits campaign, the federation gave evidence to Parliament today on the detrimental and costly impact of lengthy disciplinary investigations on police officers, their families and their colleagues.

Mr Andrews said he accepted that putting strict time limits on all investigations would be difficult as clearly some take longer to resolve.

However, he argued that the IOPC must be given approved code of practises around investigations which include expected time scales and penalties when these are unjustifiably missed.

He added: “Officers have lost confidence in the IOPC. We need to see real improvements on how they deal with things and I believe introducing the same types of standards we follow will be a step in the right direction.”

Nationally, the Police Federation is calling for a 12-month time limit on such investigations.

PFEW national conduct and performance lead Phill Matthews said: “Protracted disciplinary investigations have ruined the careers of multiple colleagues, left a mark on their mental health, and placed pressure on their home lives and loved ones. It is clear the effects are devastating.

“Public trust in the system will erode if people do not think their complaints will be dealt with quickly. This issue is already something many complainants frequently express.

“We are encouraged that the IOPC is keen to work with us rather than against us. However, the issue of investigations rumbling on for more than a year still continues, and enough is enough.”

An IOPC spokesman said: "The IOPC has made significant achievements in improving the timeliness of investigations and many of the delays which can occur are outside of our control. 

"It is disappointing and misleading that the Police Federation has chosen not to reflect this in the information they have provided.

"Since becoming the IOPC, we’ve completed more than 1,350 investigations and 90 per cent are now completed within 12 months.

"In addition to taking on around 700 new investigations of police conduct each year and improving the timeliness of those, of the 538 investigations inherited from the IPCC, only three investigations remain and are near to completion.

"If we find a police officer has a case to answer for misconduct, we make recommendations to the relevant force who are then responsible for considering our recommendations and any subsequent action. This is the end of our investigation - 90 per cent are completed within 12 months.

"We do not determine dates for misconduct hearings which are arranged by police forces, or criminal proceedings which are set by the courts and Crown Prosecution Service.

"The Federation are often party to these proceedings and will be aware that the IOPC does not determine these dates.

"That is also why new legislative reforms, which the IOPC called for, were implemented in February last year to further improve timeliness.

"A small number of the 700 investigations we start each year take longer than 12 months. These are complex investigations, often looking at historical allegations and can be delayed by concurrent inquests or criminal proceedings, legal challenges and other complications which can delay an investigation.

"Everyone in the police complaints system has a responsibility to work together to improve timeliness – including police forces, the Federation, the CPS and other parties.

"We recognise the impact of lengthy investigations on police officers, complainants and families and that is why we are committed to working across they complaints and discipline system to improve the timeliness of our investigations as well as associated processes determined by others."