§ Lord Islwynasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will investigate the feasibility of speeding up the procedures for dealing with disciplinary charges involving senior police officers. [HL3616]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)The Government have been very concerned about the protracted nature of disciplinary proceedings against police officers of all ranks. Delays are clearly undesirable for accused officers, forces and ultimately for the public they serve. New police disciplinary procedures are being introduced on 1 April 1999 and it is expected that streamlined systems will result in fewer delays consistent with the principles of fairness being applied. In the case of senior officers, the present procedures have been used only rarely. However, it is fair to say that lessons have been learned from problems experienced recently in a few force areas and these are contributing to the revision of the senior officer procedures.