2466 policy

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SECTION 6 - GENERAL ADMINISTRATION & SERVICE CONDITIONS


Restrictions on the Private Lives of Police Officers
Other Interests (Public Duties)
[Inserted by ‘Policy Guideline’ P110/01]
Overview Police
regulations
Human Rights Act
Defining Other Interest
Guidance on conduct
Includes: Impartiality and Confidentiality  Requests for Time Off
Politics, Other Guidance

1. Overview
The role of a police officer, as officer of the Crown, is different from any other occupation as it
carries certain responsibilities and obligations both on and off duty. This is recognised
through Police Regulations 1995.
Other interests, defined for the purposes of this policy as public duties outside the role of a
police officer e.g., School Governance or Parish/Town Councillor, may, depending on the
officer’s conduct, have a detrimental effect on the integrity of officers and the overall
reputation of the force and guidelines have therefore been set out within this policy to assist
officers in carrying out such duties.
Whilst there is no statutory right to time off from duty (paid or unpaid) to pursue such other
interests, Divisional/Departmental commanders may accommodate time off in accordance
with paragraph 6 below.
There is no requirement to obtain permission regarding participation in other interests.
However, a system of administering requests for time off has been established and set out
within this policy document.
Reference should also be made to the policy document entitled ‘Restrictions on the Private
Lives of Police Officers – Business Interests’ – Click Here
2. Police
Regulations
Regulation 9 (Schedule 2) of the Police Regulations 1995 gives an indication as to where
there might be conflict between an ‘other interest’ and the role of a police officer.
Regulation 9 (Schedule 2) Part 1 reads:
“A member of a police force shall at all times abstain from any activity which is likely to
interfere with the impartial discharge of his duties or which is likely to give rise to the
impression amongst members of the public that it may so interfere; and a memb
a
er of
police force shall not take any active part in politics.’
Clearly whilst there would be no conflict with many activities some areas may require
clarification, for instance council activity.
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There is no question of ruling out the pursuance of other interests but this policy serves to
give guidance to officers as to what is, and is not, acceptable within the meaning of the
Regulation.
3.
Human Rights Act, 1998
With regard to Human Rights legislation, the restrictions contained in this policy have basis in
domestic law, are legitimate in protecting National Security, protecting health and morals, and
for the protection of the reputational rights and freedoms of others. They are considered
necessary and proportionate in addressing potential adverse affects on Essex Police and staff
arising from the poor conduct of officers.
4. Defining
Other
Interest
Other interests are defined for the purposes of this policy as public duties outside the role of a
police officer. It is not the public duty per se that is considered to be acceptable or
unacceptable but instead the conduct of the officer that is under consideration. It is important
therefore to define the restriction placed on the officer by the Regulation. The restrictions
under Regulation 9 relate to two main issues:
1) The activity must not interfere with the impartial discharge of duty or be likely to give
rise to the impression amongst members of the public that it may so interfere with the
impartial discharge of duty.
2) The officer must not take an active part in politics.
5.
Guidance on Conduct
For the protection of the Force and the individuals concerned, those pursuing other interests
must comply with the following guidance and understand that failure to do so could result in
disciplinary action.
Officers must abide by the restrictions placed upon them by Police Regulations and other
legislation i.e., Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999, the Official Secrets Acts and Data
Protection Act 1998.
Impartiality & Confidentiality
a)  There are specific obligations under the Code of Conduct (Police (Conduct)
Regulations 1999) with regard to impartiality and confidentiality respectively:
“Police officers have a particular responsibility to act with fairness and impartiality in
all their dealings with the public and their colleagues.
Information which comes into the possession of the police should be treated as
confidential: it should not be used for personal benefit nor should it be divulged to
other parties except in the proper course of police duty.
Officers should respect information about force policy and operations as confidential,
unless authorised to disclose it in the course of their duties.”
b)  As a police officer you must not attend in your official capacity as a member of
Essex Police nor seek to represent your personal views as those of the Chief
Constable or Essex Police.
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c)  It is stressed that performance of Parish/Town, District or County Council activity is
undertaken on a personal basis and not as a representative of Essex Police. As
such, under no circumstances should uniform be worn when carrying out such duties.
d) As a police officer you must not publicly be a lead or spokesperson on issues directly
relating to policing matters as these may lead to the impression that as a police
officer you may have some undue influence. For example:
Campaigning to introduce a speed limit.
Campaigning to increase police resources.
Spokesperson on Crime and Disorder.
Sit on an appointments committee where you have police knowledge about an individual.
Politics
a)  As a police officer you must also avoid taking active part in politics and should not
under any circumstances:
1) Publicly associate themselves with a political party;
2) Seek election or appointment on the basis of political stance.
b)  Officers wishing to pursue council activity are to be elected only as independent
representatives and must remain that way for the full term of office.
Other Guidance
As a police officer you must further understand and accept your responsibilities as a member
of the Force as follows:
a) Your primary responsibility and accountability is as a member of Essex Police.
b) There can be no presumption that any police duties will be changed to facilitate the
pursuance of other interests.
c) The other interests must not interfere with your ability to carry out your duties to Essex
Police. When in doubt you must seek clarification through Divisional Command e.g.,
working excessive hours.
6.
Request for Time Off
There is no legal right to paid time off from duty to carry out other interests (public duties).
Although, Divisional / Departmental Commanders may (subject to the exigencies of the
service) accommodate time off for other interests with a flexible approach providing the officer
concerned is flexible by demonstrating:
A willingness to re-arrange work to ensure their normal working week is achieved. This
may involve adopting a series of measures including:
Duty changes and split shifts (with the consent of the individual concerned).
Duty changes which involve other members of staff with their agreement.
Mutual agreement on moving rest days where appropriate.

No time off is to be taken without prior consent from the Divisional/Departmental Commander.
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MEMBERSHIP OF PROSCRIBED ORGANISATIONS
[Inserted by 'Policy Guideline P61/05]
Introduction
Members of the Police Service are prohibited from joining the following organisations:
(1)          The British National Party.
(2)          Combat 18.
(3)          The National Front.
Purpose
This policy sets out the Force response to and the procedure for dealing with any breaches of
ACPO prohibition on membership of proscribed organisations set out in Schedule 1 to The
Police (Amendment) Regulations 2004.
Principle
Essex Police takes seriously its moral and legal duty to promote racial harmony and eliminate
racial discrimination. The legal duty(ies) is set out in the Race Relations Act 1976 and the
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
Essex Police takes the view that membership of the British National Party and any other
proscribed organisation is incompatible with the aforementioned legal and moral duty.
The business case in support of the prohibition is overwhelmingly sound and reasonable.
The unequivocal link between ‘the quality and equality of service provision’ is severely
undermined or threatened, or perceived to be the case if any member of the force, including
police officers, police staff or special constables, or any other person(s) engaged directly or
indirectly, including agency workers or contractors hold membership of or are involved in the
activities of any proscribed organisations. This specifically includes the British National Party.
Essex Police believes, therefore, that its overall vision of ‘making Essex a safer place’ and its
statutory responsibility for policing the County and its residents, businesses and visitors fairly
and without prejudice are incompatible with the aims and objectives, and the activities of the
British National Party and any other proscribed organisations. The Force would therefore not
encourage, tolerate or condone membership of these organisations, or the recruitment or
retention of anyone with membership of these organisations.
Legal Context
This policy is underpinned by the following provisions, namely:
¨   On 15 July 2004, the Chief Constables’ Council endorsed that:
“No member of the police service, whether police officer or police staff, may be a
member of an organisation whose constitution, aims, objectives or
pronouncements contradict the general duty to promote race equality. This
specifically includes the British National Party.”
¨   Subsequent to the above endorsement, the Secretary of State issued The Police
(Amendment) Regulations 2004 in relation to the ‘restrictions on the private lives
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of members of police forces’. The Regulations came into effect on 1 January
2005 and state as follows:
(a)
“A member of a police force shall at all times abstain from any activity
which is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge of his/her duties or
which is likely to give rise to the impression amongst members of the public
that it may so interfere.

(b)
A member of a police force shall in particular:
(i)            not take any active part in politics;
(ii)           not belong to any organisation specified or described in a
determination of the Secretary of State.”
¨   The Secretary of State, in pursuit of the above, also determined that “no
member of a police force may be a member of any of the following organisations:
(a)
the British National Party;
(b) Combat
18;
(c)
the National Front.”
Scope
This policy is applicable to any member of Essex Police, including police officers, police staff,
special constables or any other member of our volunteer workforce, or any person working for
or on behalf of the force, including consultants or contractors.
It is therefore not permissible for any member of Essex Police to breach the above
Regulations. A breach of this policy is a breach of trust, confidence and loyalty inherent in the
relationship between every member of the Force and Essex Police, and the latter through its
management structure would deal with any breaches swiftly, fairly and reasonably within the
existing disciplinary or/and capability procedures.
It is therefore a disciplinary offence to breach this policy and if any allegation(s) to that effect
is proven the person(s) may be required to resign or be dismissed with or without notice.
This policy will take immediate effect. Therefore, any member of the Force who is a member
of the aforementioned proscribed organisations should arrange to cease or withdraw their
membership with immediate effect.
Applicants for sensitive and designated posts in the Force may be vetted for membership of
the above proscribed organisations, and any positive checks would not only lead to an
automatic rejection of the applicant(s), but the applicant would be dealt with as above.
Anyone seeking to join Essex Police in any capacity will be required to declare in writing on
the job application form whether or not he/she is or has been a member of the above
proscribed organisations.
Current membership of any of the proscribed organisations is sufficient to conclude that the
applicant is not competent for the job or suitable to work for Essex Police. Therefore, any
applicant who declares that he/she is still a member of any of the proscribed organisations
should not be shortlisted for the next stage of the recruitment and selection process.
In cases of previous membership of any proscribed organisations, every case should be
assessed on its merit, taking into account, of course, any relevant factors such as when and
how long ago the applicant ceased to be a member and whether or not he/she was an active
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or official member/executive of the proscribed organisations etc. For consistency, every one
of such cases should be referred to the Head of HR.
Advice
If any member of Essex Police requires advice in relation to any aspects of this policy, its
scope or interpretation, including having to case their membership of any proscribed
organisations, they should contact their:
¨   Human Resources Business Managers (previously known as Area Personnel
Advisers).
¨   Local Federation Office/Secretariat.
¨   Unison Office (Headquarters).
18th April 2005
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