Policing UK 2013 - Police Federation

THE POLICE REFORM PROGRAMME
Independent
thinking
Dame Anne Owers outlines the
role of the Independent Police
Complaints Commission
Dame Anne Owers is Chair
of the Independent Police
Complaints Commission
The Independent Police
Complaints Commission (IPCC)
was created by the Police Reform
Act 2002, following recommendations
made by the Macpherson inquiry into
the death of Stephen Lawrence.
It was the third body set up to provide
some kind of oversight of complaints
against the police, and the most powerful
and far-reaching: with powers of arrest
and investigation, a responsibility for
handling appeals from dissatisfied
complainants, and a duty to promote
confidence in the complaints system
as a whole.
Independent oversight of criminal
justice agencies with coercive powers is a
key part of the democratic accountability
of those services, and public confidence
in the way those powers are used. It is
mandated in international, as well as
domestic, law.
This is particularly the case for
places of detention, which must have
independent monitoring bodies. Article
2 of the European Convention on
Human Rights also requires independent
investigation in cases where agents of the
state may have caused or contributed to
death either directly or by breaching their
duty of care.
It is important that the IPCC is,
and is perceived to be, independent
both of the police service and of the
Home Office. Its work, and all of its
independent investigations, are overseen
by Commissioners, none of whom can
ever have worked for the police. It does
employ some ex-police officers, mainly
as investigators. This has been criticised,
but they bring essential investigative and
forensic skills, and they are balanced by
a significant majority of investigators
who come from other disciplines and
experiences.
Fairness and justice
Independence is about the value and
culture of an organisation, not just the
background of its staff, and this has to
focus on ensuring that complaints are
dealt with fairly and justly, taken seriously
and investigated robustly, asking the
questions that the complainant, or their
family and community, would want
answered.
It was never envisaged that the IPCC
should deal with all complaints itself, as
the Police Ombudsman for Northern
Ireland does. But cases of death or
serious injury following contact with the
police, and serious assault, sexual abuse
or corruption must be referred to the
IPCC so that it can determine whether
or not to independently investigate, carry
out a managed investigation, supervise a
police investigation, or allow the case to
be locally investigated.
54 | POLICING UK