§ Sir John WheelerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will issue his consultation document reviewing police discipline procedures.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI am today issuing a paper which examines police discipline procedures in the light of the considerable changes which have been, and are being, made to personnel management in the police service. I believe that the existing procedures, which date from world war 1, fail to meet the requirement of the public for112W a swift response to minor failures in what is expected of police officers. The present procedures are also, in many respects, unfair to individual officers and yet, where there have been serious breaches of conduct, can prevent proper action from being taken quickly and sensibly.
I have invited comments on the paper by 14 May and shall welcome views from everyone with an interest in these issues. I hope that interested parties, particularly the police staff associations and the Police Complaints Authority, will respond quickly so that there may be early and constructive discussion on the way forward.
Copies of the paper are available to hon. Members in the Library and, as usual, in the Vote Office.