HC Deb 11 December 1906 vol 167 cc131-2
*CAPTAIN FABER

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, considering that a chief constable can at present dismiss any constable without appeal within a few weeks of his pension, even upon mistaken information, he will consider the advisability of any constable being allowed to appeal to quarter sessions, provided that such a man has served over three-quarters of the time necessary for pension.

*THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Gladstone, Leeds, W.)

I have no reason for thinking any amendment of the law in the sense suggested by the hon. Member is desirable. No case is known at the Home Office of any constable being dismissed by a chief constable within a few weeks of becoming due for pension. There seems on the contrary some reason to fear that chief constables may be sometimes tempted to deal too leniently † See (4) Debates, clxvi., 748–9. with misconduct on the part of their men when the offenders have served nearly long enough for pension.