Final Report of the Morris Inquiry: The Case for Change

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS
7.95 It is clear that DPS has made progress in reducing the time taken to
investigate complaints but we consider more can and should be done. We accept
that DPS carries out regular reviews of cases but this does not appear to be
adequate in reducing the significant delays that still occur. To quote Chief
Superintendent Alex Fish: “What our DPS would tell us is that [independent review] exists
already, but we would say it is not working”.
7.96 This is bad for an officer caught up in the process whose life is ‘on hold’, bad
for the organisation and bad for Londoners.
7.97 We have also received some evidence on delays in convening Discipline
Panels. One reason for delay seems to be a difficulty on getting people to sit on a
Panel. This was a factor in Ms BB’s case.
7.98 We therefore believe that some form of independent review needs to be
imported into the process. We consider that the model of case management we are
proposing with its emphasis on increased accountability and scrutiny should help to
deal with delays which are due to the actions of the MPS.
Supervision – “Nobody is actually held to account”
7.99 There was a real concern that no one appeared to be supervising disciplinary
processes, challenging delays and lengthy suspensions and taking action to move
things on.
“I have experienced the discipline process from an inside view, from a police officer’s point of
view, and it was frustrating enough for me, knowing how it works, but I just imagine that
members of the public who make complaints about police officers or whatever, the system,
how more frustrating it must be for them if they are constantly fobbed off with,“Well, that is
just the way – that is how long it takes”. I do think that if there was somebody actually
monitoring this, and somebody who, you know, is looking at it from an objective point of
view, they have not got any axe to grind, they have not got any – you know, they are totally
independent, and can see it from the point of view of, “Look, this is not acceptable.
These people are being made to wait, whether they are police officers, whether they are
members of the public”, and evidence, people’s memories, things like that, the longer
these things get left, then the less likely justice really is going to be done, I think.”
(Evidence of Ms BB.)
7.100 We have received evidence from the MPS about a number of supervision and
review systems including the Investigating Officer Workload Analysis, the
Investigating Officer Throughput Analysis, the Internal Investigations Command
Performance Bulletin and the DPS Monthly Management Report.
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