NEWS


SUCCESSFUL PFEW LEGAL ACTION HOLDS IOPC TO ACCOUNT


The IOPC is moving in the right direction, but there remains deep-seated cultural bias directed towards police officers


Six police officers who endured long misconduct investigations have received substantial compensation and formal apology letters following a successful legal challenge by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW). The Independent Office for


Police Conduct (IOPC) agreed to


the pay-outs in February after PFEW lawyers took legal action on behalf of the Metropolitan Police officers. They were subjected to lengthy investigations that took between four and seven years, following three incidents in London during 2011. The IOPC settled the cases in favour of the PFEW-supported claimants. National Vice Chair Ché Donald welcomed the settlements and warned PFEW would continue to hold the IOPC to account for further unfair, prolonged persecution of officers. He said: “The IOPC has been


completely unaccountable for the way in which they run protracted investigations, displayed bias, and behaved in an underhanded manner that negatively affected the lives of officers. “The settlement calls the IOPC to account


and makes it clear PFEW will not tolerate our members being treated this way and sets an important precedent for colleagues. “Protracted investigation and the


days of treating officers like second class citizens are over, along with the associated mindset. The settlements show there is now a financial penalty to pay for


08 | POLICE | APRIL 2022


“The settlement calls the IOPC to account and makes it clear PFEW will not tolerate our members being treated this way and sets an important precedent for colleagues”


unfairness caused by lengthy misconduct investigations.


“None of these officers needed to be put through a process that lasted a number of years, and this massively impacted on their mental and physical wellbeing, while leaving them in limbo. Financial compensation is good, but it won’t change the fact they had to go through hell. “The IOPC is moving in the right direction, but there remains deep-seated cultural bias in some pockets directed towards police officers. Until these are resolved, PFEW will fight for fairness via our ‘Time Limits’ campaign, which calls for a cap on how long an allegation or complaint against a police officer can be investigated.”


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