Police Complaints Bill may not fulfil its objectives
The House of Lords Constitution Committee has today published its report on the Police (Complaints and Conduct) Bill and say that the Bill, which was introduced following the publication of the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, may not meet it objective of ensuring the IPCC can effectively investigate matters relating to the Hillsborough disaster.
The Bill gives powers to the Secretary of State to compel serving police officers to attend interviews by the IPCC but makes no provision for former police officers who have retired or resigned from the police force. It also fails to provide any guarantee that serving offices forced to attend an interview would engage properly with the IPCC's questions.
The Committee question the need for the Police (Complaints and Conduct) Bill to be fast tracked through Parliament. They say that the Bill does not meet the criteria of addressing a problem that has suddenly come to light, responding to a court decision or dealing with a genuine emergency. The Committee point out that the IPCC have been arguing for some time that its powers need to be strengthened.
You can read a copy of the report on the Committee's web page.
