NEWS PFEW’S #SIMPLIFYDG6 CAMPAIGN
FINDS RESONANCE IN STATE OF POLICING
In his first assessment of policing in England and Wales after being appointed as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke QPM DL has called for major reforms
On 9 June 2023, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) released an eye-opening report following its annual assessment of policing in England and Wales. The report, State of Policing 2022, said that policing and the police service are at a historic turning point and there is a limited window of opportunity to repair public trust.
This is the first annual assessment of policing undertaken by HMICFRS after Andy Cooke QPM DL was appointed as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary on 1 April 2022. Mr Cooke, who was formerly Chief
Constable of Merseyside Police from 2016 to 2021, described widespread systemic failings in both the police and criminal justice system in the report saying it threatens to damage public trust in the police. The report called for definitive action to address the failures instead of “glossy strategies and mission statements” that do not bring about lasting change. PFEW National Chair Steve Hartshorn
said: “At the outset, I would like to thank Andy Cooke for the timely and realistic assessment of policing in England and Wales. “Policing and the police service are indeed at a historic turning point, and HMICFRS is right when it says that ‘there is a limited window of opportunity to repair public trust’. “There is no doubt that police officers
want to provide the service the public deserve, and they go to great lengths in protecting the communities they serve.” The #SimplifyDG6 campaign is spearheaded by Detective Inspector
Ben Hudson who is also the Chair of Police Federation National Detectives’ Forum and Secretary of Suffolk Police Federation. The campaign is calling on the Government to sponsor an amendment to the Data Protection and Digital Information (No.2) Bill to mitigate the impact of the bureaucratic burden of evidence redaction imposed on police officers when seeking charging decisions from the CPS. The Bill is currently before the Parliament to go through the legislative process. The report found an extensive impact of evidence redaction obligations levied by DG6 on police officers’ workload, efficiency, and effectiveness in bringing cases to justice. The report noted: “It has become significantly more time consuming to prepare a case file for court. This is because the guidance places greater requirements on the police to produce material at an early stage, rather than when the case is already in the court system. One force told us that, on average, an additional seven hours are needed to build each case file. Based on their average CPS monthly submission rate of 180 case files, this equates to an additional 1,260 hours per month in that force alone.” Reacting to the findings of the inspection on the impact of DG6 on evidence redaction obligations of police officers, Mr Hudson said: “It is our position that there is an urgent need for the Government to adopt this amendment to the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill to ensure it becomes part
of the new law.”
Based on the inspection’s overall findings, Mr Cooke observed: “Change needs to start at the top. Chief constables and police and crime commissioners need to do more to make sure their forces are efficient and to get a grip on their priorities. The police are not there to be the first port of call for people in a mental health crisis or to uphold social justice. They are there to uphold the law.” Supporting Mr Cooke’s observations, Mr Hartshorn said: “This cannot be achieved without the Government and chief officers ensuring officers have access to the right resources. Our forces are struggling due to paucity of funds and the HMICFRS report rightly identifies that ‘an abrupt, stop-start approach to police funding isn’t in the public interest’. “We have said time and time and again
that to address the systemic failings of our police service, change needs to start at the top. Police chiefs must lead by example and change the way we recruit and train officers. “We recognise the HMICFRS recommends re-establishing involvement of the Inspectors of Constabulary in the selection and appointment of police chiefs. While police officer recruitment routes are being revised, it is only right HMICFRS assists the Home Office in the crucial task of selecting and appointing leaders of the police forces.”
07 | POLICE | AUGUST | 2023
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