HC Deb 03 March 1986 vol 93 cc44-5W
Mr. Deakins

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what disciplinary action is taken by the Metropolitan police in the case of police officers who are successfully sued for assault.

Mr. Giles Shaw

Police officers convicted of any criminal offence are liable to then be charged with the police disciplinary offence of criminal conduct. It may occasionally happen that civil proceedings are successfully brought against the police in respect of events which have not previously been the subject of criminal or disciplinary proceedings. In such circumstances, it is the practice of the Metropolitan police to review the case to see whether it is right for further investigation to take place, having regard to the evidence given in the civil proceedings, the lapse of time since the incident and the different standards of proof in civil proceedings on the one hand, and in criminal or disciplinary proceedings on the other.