My Lords, in moving this amendment, I shall speak also to Amendments 56QZF and 56QZG. The object of these amendments is to strengthen the independence and transparency of the IPCC. They would do so by increasing the proportion of independent investigations carried out by the IPCC, reducing the proportion of IPCC investigators who are former police officers and requiring the IPCC to report annually to Parliament.
Amendment 56QZE would require that, in the case of serious complaints, the IPCC would carry out the majority of investigations itself. To maintain the culture of policing by consent, there must always be an effective response to valid complaints and the public rightly expect independence and transparency in the investigation of such complaints. But last year, just one in 17 of the
serious cases referred to the IPCC resulted in an independent investigation. I am sure that that is not what Parliament intended when the IPCC was set up, nor will this approach maintain public trust and confidence.
The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee considered the work of the IPCC on two occasions, most recently in January this year. Its report highlighted concerns about the independence of the IPCC’s investigations and the impact on its work of a high caseload and restricted resources. The IPCC has itself accepted that it must take on more independent investigations, and the Government have assisted it to do so by providing additional funding. Can the Minister indicate how much additional money it is to receive? The amendment seeks to ensure that, in future, the majority of serious complaints are independently investigated by the IPCC.
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Amendment 56QZF addresses the problem of the number of IPCC investigators who are former or seconded police officers. This practice leaves the IPCC open to the charge that, even for the most serious complaints, it is actually the police investigating the police. The amendment would limit to just 25% the proportion of IPCC investigators who come from a police background. It would also prohibit the appointment of any former police officer to the important post of director of investigations of the IPCC.
The IPCC’s own annual report for 2011/12 reported that all of its senior investigators, plus half of its deputy senior investigators and one-third of its investigators, are former police officers or police civilians. For the investigation staff as a whole, the proportion coming from a police background was reported to be 43%. Furthermore, the IPCC’s current director of investigations is a former Metropolitan Police commander. This is a very significant post which requires absolute independence. I acknowledge that these former police officers bring valuable experience and skills to the job but, unfortunately, they also compromise the IPCC’s independence.
The additional funds that are to be given to the IPCC should enable the recruitment of new investigators from different disciplines outside policing. While the IPCC might need the skills of former police officers in the short term, the need to employ them should be greatly reduced in the long run. The amendment accordingly proposes that not more than one-quarter of IPCC investigating staff should have a police background and that it should be led by a director of investigations who does not have such a background. The amendment sets a deadline of 1 January 2017—three years hence—for these targets to be achieved.
Amendment 56QZG is intended to maintain the drive for independence in the IPCC by improving its reporting requirements. The Police Reform Act 2002 already requires the IPCC to make an annual report to the Home Secretary on the carrying out of its functions during the year. The amendment would require the IPCC to also report to Parliament on moves to strengthen its independence. This would include the volume of independent investigations carried out, the number of investigators employed who have not served in the police, any other work to strengthen the IPCC’s
independence and any changes to its responsibilities during the year. The amendment would ensure that greater exposure to the work of the IPCC is achieved through the mechanism of clear, annual reporting requirements. I beg to move.