Actions and protocol after finding Met Police chidl abusers

The request was successful.

Dear Metropolitan Police Service (MPS),

What actions are taken by the Met when a police officer is found to be a child abuser or paedophile who has indecent pictures of children?
What policies, guidance or protocols are in place to review that officers past police actions that may have brought him in contact with children and / or other actions where he may have had influence on any proceedings or inquiries into child abuse
Yours faithfully,

Rebecca Hemsley

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Dear Ms Hemsley

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2018030000640

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 17/03/2018.  I note you seek
access to the following information:

"What actions are taken by the Met when a police officer is found to be  a
child abuser or paedophile who has indecent pictures of children?
What policies, guidance or protocols are  in place to review that officers
past police actions that may have brought him in contact with children and
/ or other  actions where he may have had influence on any proceedings or
inquiries into child abuse "

Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act).  You will receive a response within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act.  

If you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please contact
us at [email address] or on the phone at 0207 161 3500, quoting the
reference number above. Should your enquiry relate to the logging or
allocations process we will be able to assist you directly and where your
enquiry relates to other matters (such as the status of the request) we
will be able to pass on a message and/or advise you of the relevant
contact details.

Yours sincerely

R. Loizou
Support Officer - Freedom of Information Triage Team
 
COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome to discuss the
response with the case officer who dealt with your request.  

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Information Rights Unit
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[email address]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.

The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.ico.org.uk.  Alternatively, write to or
phone:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113

Consider our environment - please do not print this email unless
absolutely necessary.

NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
copyright and/or legal privilege and are intended solely for the use of
the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system.  To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

 

Find us at:

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Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Dear Ms Hemsley,

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2018030000640

I write in response to your request for information that was received by
the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 17 March 2018. I apologise for
the delay in responding to your request and for any inconvenience caused
to you. I note that you seek access to the following information:

"What actions are taken by the Met when a police officer is found to be a
child abuser or paedophile who has indecent pictures of children?

What policies, guidance or protocols are in place to review that officers
past police actions that may have brought him in contact with children and
/ or other  actions where he may have had influence on any proceedings or
inquiries into child abuse"

Following receipt of your request, I have conducted searches to locate
information relevant to your request. These searches located some
information that is relevant to your request.

DECISION
I have provided an answer to each of your requests for information below:

"What actions are taken by the Met when a police officer is found to be a
child abuser or paedophile who has indecent pictures of children?"

All  police officers are required to abide by and uphold the law. In
addition, police officers are required to adhere to the Standards of
Professional Behaviour as set out by the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012
and the Police Code of Ethics. I have provided links to these documents
below:

Standards of Professional Behaviour
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/...

Police Code of Ethics
http://www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/...

If it is suspected that a police officer has committed a criminal offence,
namely that of possession of indecent image(s) of a child, that officer
would be criminally investigated and where the evidence satisfies the
evidential test, prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). In
addition, the officer may be suspended from duty or placed on restricted
duties whilst the criminal investigation and any associated criminal
proceedings are concluded. If however, there is sufficient evidence which
proves on the balance of probabilities, that the conduct of the officer
constitutes gross misconduct and it is in the public interest for the
officer to cease to be a police officer without delay, the officer may be
the subject of a special case hearing. A special case hearing allows a
police service to fast track the dismissal of a police officer and can be
instigated prior to the conclusion of a criminal investigation or
proceedings.

If, at the conclusion of the criminal investigation and/or proceedings the
officer has not been the subject of a special case hearing, they will be
required to attend a misconduct hearing. The role of the misconduct
hearing is to establish if the officer's conduct has breached the
Standards of Professional Behaviour as set out in the Police (Conduct)
Regulations 2012. If it is found that the officer's conduct has breached
the aforementioned standards, a range of sanctions are available to the
panel of the misconduct hearing, including dismissal.

Securing and maintaining the trust of the community is integral to the
principle of policing by consent and in order to do so, the Metropolitan
Police Service recognises that its employees must act with professionalism
and integrity whether on or off duty. All police officers are required to
abide by and uphold the law. In addition, police officers are required to
adhere to the Standards of Professional Behaviour as set out by the Police
(Conduct) Regulations 2012 and the Police Code of Ethics.

The MPS treats each occasion when an employee receives a criminal
conviction extremely seriously and will, in each instance, review the
suitability of that employee to continue to serve with the MPS.
 
"What policies, guidance or protocols are in place to review that officers
past police actions that may have brought him in contact with children and
/ or other  actions where he may have had influence on any proceedings or
inquiries into child abuse"

There is no specific procedure for dealing with this scenario, nor could
there be as the enquiries required would be entirely dependent upon the
circumstances of each case. The requested policies, guidance and/or
protocols are not accordingly held by the MPS. It should be noted that all
members of the MPS are subject to a strict vetting process prior to
employment and also throughout their careers with the MPS, depending upon
the roles being performed. Whilst there is no such policy that addresses
this point specifically, the vetting  procedures are designed to identify
risk and vulnerability.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS
This notice concludes your request for information. I would like to thank
you for your interest in the MPS.

If you are dissatisfied with this response please read the attached paper
entitled Complaint Rights, which explains how to make a complaint.  

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact me upon telephone number 0207 161 6510 or at
[email address], quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Damion Baird

In complying with their statutory duty under sections 1 and 11 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed information, the
Metropolitan Police Service will not breach the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988. However, the rights of the copyright owner of the
enclosed information will continue to be protected by law.  Applications
for the copyright owner's written permission to reproduce any part of the
attached information should be addressed to MPS Directorate of Legal
Services, 10 Lambs Conduit Street, London, WC1N 3NR.
 

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome to discuss the
response with the case officer who dealt with your request.  

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Information Rights Unit
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[email address]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.

The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.ico.org.uk.  Alternatively, write to or
phone:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113

Consider our environment - please do not print this email unless
absolutely necessary.

NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
copyright and/or legal privilege and are intended solely for the use of
the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system.  To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

 

Find us at:

Facebook: [1]https://m.facebook.com/metpoliceuk 

Twitter: @metpoliceuk

References

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