UK government to give greater authority to dismiss police officers alleged to have committed misconduct News
Slinkierbus268, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
UK government to give greater authority to dismiss police officers alleged to have committed misconduct

The UK government announced plans Thursday to allow chief constables and other senior officers greater authority to terminate rogue employees. Those who don’t pass background checks can also be fired. A finding of serious misconduct will result in a police officer’s immediate termination.

An initial review of police dismissals began after the Baroness Casey review into the culture and standards at the Metropolitan Police Service was released in March. The review raised concerns about the low number of police officers accused of misconduct being dismissed.

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley responded to the proposed plan, stating:

I’m grateful to the Government for recognising the need for substantial change that will empower chief officers in our fight to uphold the highest standards and restore confidence in policing. The flaws in the existing regulations have contributed to our inability to fully address the systemic issues of poor standards and misconduct. We will now work collectively to prepare for the introduction of these changes so they can be implemented without delay.

A YouGov Poll conducted Thursday suggested that 88% of people would support the new measures and only 4% opposed. In 2021 64 out of 785 police officer applicants (8.2%) were refused Vetting clearance.

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