Final Report of the Morris Inquiry: The Case for Change

ENHANCING THE OFFICE OF CONSTABLE
Attestation
3.106 There is one final point we need to deal with in this chapter. We have
expressed our support for retaining the office of constable and one of its important
features is the attestation from which the authority of the office is derived.
3.107 However, we have considered whether the timing of the administration of
that attestation should be reviewed, with officers only taking on the full powers of a
constable once they have completed their initial training.
3.108 This issue has become more prominent following the broadcast of the BBC
television programme, The Secret Policeman. As the probationers featured in the
programme were already constables, they were entitled to the full protection of the
Regulations despite not having yet acquired a full understanding of the obligations
of the office. Therefore, there was no quick way for the service to dismiss them,
despite the compelling evidence against them.
3.109 In the aftermath of the programme, the Commissioner asked Assistant
Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur to undertake a Thematic Review of Race and
Diversity in the MPS. Mr Ghaffur commented as follows: “The issue of recruits holding
the Office of Constable can hinder direct action being taken against recruits exhibiting overtly
racist behaviour. Strong consideration should be given to recruits and officers holding regular
employee status rather than the Office of Constable.”
3.110 This would involve delayed attestation. Whilst we support Mr Ghaffur’s
stance in relation to the need to be able deal swiftly with recruits who exhibit racist
behaviour, we believe the issue is much wider. It is important that the system allows
for those who are not suited to the police service – for whatever reason – to be
removed from the service at an early stage. The Regulations do not facilitate this.
3.111 There is a specific provision referring to probationers but it has been established
that ‘summary dismissal’ under Regulation 13 of the Police Regulations 2003, on the
grounds that the officer was not likely to become a ‘well-conducted’ constable, should
not be used where the allegations amount to misconduct under the appropriate
misconduct regulations and the probationer disputes the factual basis of the allegation.
3.112 It is unusual, in our experience, for an individual to be made a full member
of any profession or occupation without a probationary period during the time they
are being trained and do not have the status of a qualified member of the
profession. The police service is even more unusual in that trainees are paid as
constables and not at a reduced rate, a practice which is common in other fields.
3.113 We are aware that delayed attestation is being considered in the context
of the new probationer development programme with its ‘key stages’.
(The Evaluation of the New Probationer Development Programme. Discussion
paper. Mike Griffiths LLB, M.Ed., PGCE November 2003.)
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