§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Police Advisory Board's Working Group on the Confidentiality of Personal Records of Police Officers has considered the risks involved in these files being opened in whole or in part to the Police Complaints Board; and, whether, in the event of a chief officer's mitigating the penalties on a police officer adjudged guilty of a disciplinary offence because of confidential information contained in his personal file, the board or any tribunal it decides to establish for the purpose of reviewing, and, if it thinks fit, overruling that chief officer's decision, will have unrestricted access to those records, regardless of security considerations or the police services' operational requirements.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe Police Complaints Board will not see, and have no entitlement to obtain, personal records of police officers. The chief officer may, however, supply personal information about an individual officer to the Board where this is relevant to the decision whether to bring disciplinary charges in the case of a complaint covered by Section 2(1) of the Police Act 1976.
As regards the second part of the Question, the Board has no right to review or overrule the chief officer's decision on punishment. Where, however, a disciplinary tribunal is held under Section 4 of the Act, the chief officer is required to consult the Board members of the tribunal before determining the punishment if the accused is found guilty. He himself is required to have regard to the accused officer's personal record and will no doubt wish to make relevant factors known to the Board members.
I do not accept that there are risks here to the confidentiality of personal records. The matter was not discussed by the Working Group to which the hon. Member refers.