Draft elected local policing body (complaints and misconduct) regulations consultation

This consultation sought views on draft regulations which set out how complaints against Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), the Mayor of London in his capacity as the holder of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC) and deputies appointed by PCCs and the MOPC will be dealt with. 

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 already requires allegations against the relevant office holder to be referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) if they are criminal allegations and requires non-criminal allegations to be handled by the police and crime panel. Some of the key features of the proposals provided for in the draft regulations are:

• the IPCC will have a call-in power a power to require that allegations of criminal behaviour against the office holder are referred to it

• the IPCC will be given strong powers to investigate an allegation of criminal behaviour, similar to those powers they have in order to investigate complaints against the police

• the IPCC will be required to publish a report following its investigation (unless it would compromise national security or ongoing criminal proceedings)

• to set out how allegations of non-criminal behaviour against the Mayor, as MOPC, or the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (if he or she is a member of the London Assembly) will be dealt with, namely in the same way as complaints about the Mayor of London or the London Assembly

• the PCC has a period of 28 days to resolve a non-criminal complaint to the satisfaction of the complainant before he/she has to notify the Police and Crime Panel of the complaint

The consultation closed on 21 October 2012.