FED REP FOCUS


CATCH UP WITH A CAPLO


This month we caught up with Scott Houghton, Conduct and Performance Liaison Ofcer (CAPLO) and Secretary at Cambridgeshire Police Federation, to talk about the important role he carries out.


What is a CAPLO and what do they do on behalf of members? Our role is to make sure our reps have the right skills and up to date knowledge to help and represent officers. We are the SPOC on conduct and performance matters and love getting into the weeds of investigations to make sure all officers are treated fairly. Certainly, in Beds, Cambs and Herts


we have built a really good working relationship with our Professional Standards Department (PSD). We don’t always agree, but there has been a huge culture improvement and we have managed to remove a lot of investigations from gross misconduct to practice requiring improvement which alleviates the stresses officers face while under investigation – shifting the focus onto learning and not blame. It is also our role to educate both


serving and student officers on the professional standards of behaviour and the pitfalls that crop up on a regular basis in order to prevent the investigations in the first place.


Give an example of a case you have worked on with a positive outcome. Last year two officers posted a number of TikTok videos on duty to raise morale on shift, some of these were reported to the PSD and an investigation followed. It went all the way to an accelerated misconduct hearing in front of the Chief Constable who fortunately decided a final written warning was the sanction it required. The officers went through absolute hell, including tabloid reporters turning up at their parents’ houses to get a quote for a story and being on almost every news channel and in the newspapers. Since then, the officers have been assisting the PSD in helping and educating officers around social media. One has now even become a Fed rep which is absolutely fantastic as they will bring a lot to the Federation.


38 I POLICE I DECEMBER 2021


When did you become a CAPLO and why? I took over the role in January when Oz Merrygold, our long-term CAPLO and Branch Secretary, retired. I have been a detective since 2010 and can see the parallels with misconduct and criminal investigations. I am passionate about, and enjoy, representing our members to the best of my ability. It is tough when you lose officers at hearings but equally very rewarding when officers keep their jobs or face much lower sanctions, if any, at the conclusion.


What has been your biggest challenge so far? It was a misconduct only investigation that almost had a catastrophic ending for an officer of 29 years’ service. He was singled out in an investigation that went from a missing from home to a murder. It took nine months to get the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) misconduct investigation to no case to answer. The mental health problems suffered


by the officer, who already had post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from their service, almost ended in the worst of scenarios that I know all CAPLOs potentially face on a day-to-day basis. But, thankfully, the officer is due to retire


CAPLO Scott Houghton.


very soon with an unblemished career and is still here to tell the story and educate others.


What’s your number one concern for members on conduct and performance matters and how will you help lead change? Welfare is a huge concern. The strain of a criminal or misconduct investigation on officers cannot be underestimated and there is a real risk of colleagues harming themselves, or worse, when under that much stress. Our force is trying to support officers better, but there really is a long way to go and forces need to be more proactive with the welfare of all officers – especially those under investigation, and we as a Federation will continue to push for improvements in this area.


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