Councillors and committees

Agenda item

FORCE CULTURE AND CONDUCT

This report updates the Panel on the steps taken by the Commissioner to hold the Chief Constable to account regarding Surrey Police’s culture and conduct and the steps taken by the Force to address cultural and conduct issues.

Minutes:

Witnesses:

Lisa Townsend, Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey

Alison Bolton, Chief Executive – OPCC

 

Key points raised in the discussion:

  1. A Panel Member noted that statistically there was over one case per officer and some officers would have several cases against them. The PCC explained that there was a low threshold to record a complaint against an officer, which meant that the case numbers were higher. It was better to have a lower threshold for making a complaint.

 

  1. A Panel Member questioned whether there were a large number of complaints reported by a small number of the population. The PCC explained that the OPCC did not have access to that information, however, the Professional Standards Department (PSD) had been doing work on repeat complainants who took up a disproportionate amount of time. The Chief Executive added that the PCC had regular meetings with the PSD and could probe any outliers and look at general trends.

 

  1. A Panel Member asked about the support provided to those who reported inappropriate behaviour of their colleagues. The PCC agreed that this was an important issue which had been raised with the Chief Constable. There had been a lot of work around VAWG, domestic abuse and misogyny within the Force. It was crucial to stop these behaviours before they turned into a conduct issue. The PCC explained that there has been a cultural campaign around ‘call it out’, whereby colleagues were encouraged to call out behaviour, and if they did not feel comfortable, there was a system to anonymously raise an issue. There was a real effort in policing to break the cycle seen by a small number of officers in the country. The OPCC and the Force had discussed introducing external oversight in this area.

 

  1. A Panel Member asked about whether staff surveys on culture could be introduced. The PCC explained that surveys were done frequently by the Force, however, not all employees would feel comfortable answering a survey issued by the same organisation. The Panel Member queried whether there was a significant difference in the distribution for complaints upheld and asked about the time taken to investigate complaints. The PCC explained that she met with the Police Federation and UNISON to discuss those issues. There had been recent issues with delays which had been addressed. Some complaints had been escalated when they arguably should not have been, but it was also important to be robust when investigating complaints. The PCC did not have the figures to hand regarding the distribution and suggested that this could be raised at the informal meeting with the Chief Constable.

 

  1. A Panel Member queried the timing of retirement for those facing a misconduct case. The PCC responded that the organisation could not stop someone from leaving. Where it was a serious and criminal allegation, this would be pursued. It was also possible to write to the Home Office regarding forfeiture of some of an officer’s pension, in some circumstances.

 

  1. A Panel Member expressed concern over a lack of justice on these occasions and asked about the types of misconduct. The PCC explained the numbers of people who had faced misconduct hearings were small and she would not share any more information with the Panel about the type of misconduct.

 

RESOLVED:

The Panel noted the report.

Supporting documents: