An inspection into activism and impartiality in policing

Fair Cop response to report of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS)

In September 2023 former Home Secretary Suella Braverman commissioned a report from HMICFRS to examine police involvement in politically contested matters.

Fair Cop were pleased to be invited to discuss this commission, as the issue of the police keeping out of politics and maintaining its impartiality is the foundation of the work of Fair Cop; we came into being when it became clear in 2018 that the police were taking sides in the ‘sex v gender’ debate and visited Harry Miller to ‘check his thinking’, a decision denounced by the courts as akin to the actions of the Gestapo, the Stasi or the Cheka.

The report was finally published on 10th September to avoid the General Election and we think it is welcome news.

It examines several areas, including policies and decision-making, how officers are trained, how police deal with non-crime hate incidents (NCHI), how the police work with external advisory groups and how effectively the police communicate with the public.

The inspection took place between October and December 2023, with fieldwork in 12 police forces in England and Wales. The inspectors reviewed more than 4,000 documents and examined records of 120 NCHI. It surveyed the police and the public, received over 4,000 responses and analysed more than 857,000 police social media posts. They noted this was “one of the most challenging inspections we have carried out,” requiring consideration of complex legislation and regulations.

The report confirms our fundamental fear — that the oath the police take on joining the service to act impartially is not properly understood or implemented and there needs to be an urgent review of the training offered by the College of Policing, as there is no independent process to check the quality and consistency of the training they have offered since 2018.

Of course, we would rather that our fears were not confirmed, and that we could have trust and confidence in such a vital service. But we hope that confirmation from such a credible and authoritative source will lead to politicians and the police finally taking this vital issue seriously — before public trust and confidence in the police is entirely lost. It is very worrying to note that the report found a ‘near-total absence’ of any ‘definition, guidance or judicial consideration of impartiality in respect of policing’.

We agree with the inspectors — the police have a very difficult role: to meet the needs of individuals and groups who have opposing views about contentious and emotive issues while simultaneously upholding everyone’s rights.

But the difficulty and the vital importance of the police is the reason why they have to do a better job of recognising and enforcing their fundamental duty of impartiality: to police without fear and without favour.

We note with sadness that many officers and staff were disappointed by the absence of commentary on the good work they do every day. We think the police on the ground have been badly let down by those in charge and this needs to change.

In summary, the report identified three systemic problems:

• No definition, guidance or judicial consideration of impartiality as it relates to policing;
• Interpretation of the Equality Act is now too complicated;
• The legislation doesn’t clearly define the boundary between police operational independence and external influence or accountability.

The report makes other very alarming findings:

• that ‘most’ chief officers told the inspectors that they experienced ‘improper pressure or interference from significant political figures’;
• there is no updated guidance on how external advisory groups should be formed or operate and no consistent approach from the different forces;
• forces record and attend more NCHIs than they need to and are not consistently following guidance.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said:

The operational independence of chief constables is a cornerstone of policing in the UK. And the exercise of democratic accountability and governance is also a fundamental element of policing. Chief constables must be held to account for how efficiently and effectively they carry out their duties. There is a delicate balance to strike between these equally important concepts.

In our inspection, we found that chief constables and PCCs don’t always understand the delineation of their roles and responsibilities. Chief officers also told us that they often experience what they believe to be improper pressure or interference from significant political figures. We found that overt attempts to influence operational policing challenge the police’s impartiality and could reduce public trust.

The report makes 22 recommendations that are designed to provide the clarity that will enable police forces to be and to be seen to be impartial:

• clarifying the impartiality duty and operational independence, and updating associated training and guidance;
• reviewing and updating the Equality Act 2010 and associated training and guidance;
• introducing guidance about police attendance and conduct at events;
• improving communication with the public about politicised and contested issues, including using social media and visible representations;
• updating guidance relating to the use of external advisory groups;
• updating policies and reviewing the governance arrangements for non-crime hate incidents; and
• strengthening the governance arrangements for police staff networks.

We agree with the inspectors when they say:

It isn’t always easy to assess whether the police are being impartial. It is even harder to judge how effectively forces maintain the appearance of impartiality. There are differing perceptions of what impartiality is across various groups and communities.

We understand that it is difficult. But a failure to grapple with this over many years now has been highly damaging to public trust and confidence in the police and more and more people asserting that ‘two-tier’ policing is in operation. If this erosion continues, then it is difficult to see how the police can continue to function, relying as they do on policing by consent.

We believe that a competent, well-run and impartial police force is essential to the well-being of us all. We feel the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to keep us safe have been betrayed by a lack of clarity and guidance about how to perform their essential functions, and this has been done at the behest of ideologies that defy material reality and make impossible demands, such as critical race theory or gender identity.

We hope that the recommendations of the report are implemented as soon as possible and we can restore policing without fear or favour.

We would all like to retire from this campaigning work, which we do for free.

Hopefully, we can soon. This report gives us cause for hope.