Suffolk hosts regional training for Legally Qualified Chairs

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Suffolk took the lead in a training event for Legally Qualified Chairs and Independent Members of Misconduct Panels in Newmarket earlier this month.

The event, hosted by the Suffolk OPCC’s Chief Executive, Christopher Jackson and regional colleagues, was attended by delegates from across the region which covers the force areas of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

The training, developed and delivered by the National Association of Legally Qualified Chairs, updated the 39 attendees on the changes made to misconduct proceedings under the reforms to the police complaints system introduced earlier this year. The training was aimed at ensuring Legally Qualified Chairs and Independent Members were fully up to date with current law, including the changes that will impact on the way misconduct hearings are conducted.

Tim Passmore said “I’d like to thank my OPCC team for organising such a successful event. We have received some very complimentary feedback from the session.
“The legally qualified chairs and misconduct panel members play a very important role in our police disciplinary process and I would like to thank them for their support to the police service.”
He added, “Misconduct panels are now held in public and this is a very positive step to improved transparency. It is very important that we are as transparent as possible in all of our work and this is a key aspect of ensuring that our disciplinary processes are similarly visible to the public.”

As part of the overhaul of the police complaints system, police misconduct panels have been chaired by legally qualified chairs since 2016 rather than senior police officers. Within the Eastern Region, Police and Crime Commissioners for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk have collaborated to recruit a panel of legally qualified chairs to service the region.

Caption: National Association of Legally Qualified Chairs trainers John Bassett and Nicola Talbot Hadley with Christopher Jackson (right).