The Home Secretary has commissioned a review into activism and
impartiality in the police.
In a letter to policing leaders, set out her expectation
that the police should focus on tackling crime, rather than being
involved in political matters, and her intention to continue
working with policing leaders to ensure that forces’ time is
always spent on the public’s priorities.
The Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of
Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to
undertake a review of the extent to which involvement in such
activities may be impacting on the effectiveness, efficiency and
legitimacy of operational policing in England and Wales by
influencing policing policy, priorities and practice.
The policing model in England and Wales, ensures that the police
should, at all times, adopt a position of political neutrality.
In her letter to police chiefs, the Home Secretary praised forces
for the hard work and dedication that they display every day,
noting the extraordinary levels of bravery and commitment
officers up and down the country show.
However, she highlighted cases where she believes public
confidence had been damaged by police engaging in contentious
issues. This includes policing gender-critical views on social
media, conduct at political marches and officers taking the knee.
Home Secretary said:
The British people expect their police to focus on cutting crime
and protecting communities – political activism does not keep
people safe, solve crimes or support victims, but can damage
public confidence.
The review I’ve commissioned will explore whether the police
getting involved in politically contentious matters is having a
detrimental impact on policing. I will leave no stone unturned in
ensuring policing acts for the benefit of the British public.
The HMICFRS review has been asked to cover:
- policies and processes that go further than, or contravene,
obligations set out in the Equality Act 2010, and how those
impact operational decision making
- the quality and neutrality of associated training provided to
implement such policies and processes, and by which
organisation(s) this is delivered
- the selection process for groups that are consulted on
revisions to policy or process, how decisions are made on which
policies and processes are selected for amendment, how the views
expressed by those groups are balanced against others, and what
consideration is given to other groups that may be impacted as a
result
- the involvement of staff networks in the development of
policies and processes, and the use of police resources and time
dedicated to such networks and whether they are involved in
contested political matters
- communications with the public on these issues, including
social media
The Home Secretary has requested that the report is published by
the end of March 2024, and is part of her drive to see more
common sense policing that will see police spending their time
wisely and getting the basics right.
The review is part of a series of measures announced by the Home
Secretary to ensure the police are acting on the British people’s
priorities, by giving them the resource they need and freeing up
officers’ time.
This includes reforming Home Office Counting Rules for crime to
reduce back-office paperwork, rolling out nationally Right Care,
Right Person so police are not attending as many mental health
callouts and recruiting 20,000 additional police officers through
the Police Uplift Programme, meaning England and Wales now has
record numbers of officers.
The commissioning letter to the
HMICFRS is available here.
