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COMPLAINTS AND MISCONDUCT
Allegations against members do not always arise from complaints from the public. There are instances where members may be suspected of having committed a criminal or disciplinary offence either as a result of a complaint, an allegation from a fellow Officer or from some other source that may result in a formal investigation. In any such case, members may be subject to both a criminal investigation and an internal disciplinary investigation. Where there is a criminal investigation a member has the same rights as any individual who is investigated for an alleged criminal offence under the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
If you are the subject of a complaint and want the services of a " discipline friend", contact your JBB office and one will be supplied.
A member has the right to consult with this "friend" at all stages of the investigation. It is important to seek advice at the earliest possible stage and certainly prior to making any formal statement.
The full extent of the allegation may not be known until the service of a notice in writing is made. This notice should be made under what is currently Regulation 9 of the Police Conduct Regulations 1999. It is accepted that other than in exceptional circumstances this notice should be served very shortly after receipt of the allegation.
Duty Statements
Where a member is the subject of a criminal investigation (i.e. where an allegation of criminal misconduct has been made against him/her) no request to provide a duty statement should be made, or if such a request is made this may be refused.
Where an allegation of the commission of a misconduct offence has been made, then, whether or not a Regulation 9 Notice has been served, a duty statement may be properly refused, it being a statement "concerning the matter".
An express assurance that a duty statement will not be used in any subsequent criminal or misconduct proceedings arguably provides the member with the necessary protection to enable a statement to be made. The circumstances in which this may arise are, for example, where a civil action has been commenced against the Chief Officer and a statement is necessary to help the Chief Officer oppose or defend the action. In these circumstances preface the duty statement with:
"I have been informed that I am not the subject of a criminal or misconduct allegation. I make this statement solely for the purposes of defending the civil action. I do not consent to it being used for any other purpose."
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