NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED
Police and Crime Commissioner, Leicestershire
Election Thursday 5 May 2016
Pre-election period (Purdah) rules for officers and staff of the OPCC and Leicestershire Police
CONTENTS
Introduction 3
Basis 3
Pre-election period (Purdah) 3
Caution 4
Principles 4
Conduct of OPCC staff 5
Conduct of Leicestershire Police Officers 5
Conduct of Leicestershire Police staff 5
Restrictions 6
Use of pre-existing police images and livery 6
Taking of new photographs, recordings or film 6
Requests for fact finding visits 7
Meetings with candidates 7
OPCC and Force websites and social media accounts 7
Media policy 8
Responding to comment / publicity from candidates 8
Police and Crime Panel Business 8
Public consultations 9
OPCC facilities – election material 9
INTRODUCTION
On Thursday 5 May 2016 elections will be held for Police and Crime Commissioners in England and wales, including Leicestershire.
The role of Leicestershire Police in this election process must be seen to be impartial and fair, and this document sets out the rules and conventions associated with the period leading up to the PCC elections, known as ‘Purdah’.
It is anticipated that this period will be observed from 7 April to 5 May 2016 and it is important that all Police Officers and employees of Leicestershire Police abide by the rules and conventions associated with this pre-election period.
BASIS
This document has been developed taking note of advice and rules relating to purdah from a number of bodies including:
· Department for Communities and Local Government, “Code of recommended practice on Local Authority publicity”, published March 2012
· Association of Chief Police Officers, “Guidelines for interaction with Police and Crime Commissioner Candidates”, published July 2012
· Cabinet Office, “Guidance on Purdah for national civil servants”, published September 2012
· Chief Executive for the Leicestershire OPCC, “Pre-election requests from candidates protocol”, published December 2015
· Christine Fisher, the Police Area Returning Officer (PARO), Leicestershire, “Briefing note”, published December 2015
It builds upon existing policies, protocols and procedures that have already been developed by the Force, to which further reference should be made.
PRE‐ ELECTION PERIOD (PURDAH)
Formal nominations will be invited from candidates by the Leicestershire PARO between 30 March and 7 April. Given that some candidates may register on March 30th, this document will assume that purdah will begin on that date and will last until 10pm on Thursday 5 May when the polls will close for the election.
During this period, it is important that neither the OPCC nor Force acts in a manner where its neutrality is called into question by being seen to provide proactive publicity in any form to prospective candidates and others involved in their election.
It must be noted that whilst the pre-election period will begin on 30 March, prospective candidates (i.e. those who have been chosen by political parties as their nominated candidate or who have indicated that they hope to be nominated) have already begun to make public statements about their intentions should they be elected. Therefore, for the purposes of this document, the word “candidate” embraces both prospective and confirmed candidate status.
During the pre-election period, publicity from either the OPCC or Force should not report views, proposals or recommendations in such a way that associates them with, or supports the views expressed by, any PCC candidates or any political party. Proactive events arranged in this period by the OPCC or Force should not involve anyone likely to be standing for election. For the avoidance of doubt, anyone who may be identified as a prospective Deputy PCC (“running mate”) would also be covered by the same restrictions as a candidate for PCC.
CAUTION
There are two reasons for the OPCC and Force to be cautious about publicity and other media events in the run‐up to an election:
· The statutory restrictions on publicity contained in the Local Government Acts 1986 and 1988, and the national Code of Recommended Practice on Publicity. This code is seen as applying in full to this election and therefore any councillor who stands as a candidate should not be seen to be using the position as a councillor to gain an advantage during the election period.
· Councillors who stand as candidates must comply with the local Code of Conduct. For example, councillors must not use this position to confer or secure an advantage for themselves or any other person, and cannot therefore use their council’s resources for political purposes.
There are several reasons why the Force must be cautious about publicity and other media events in the run-up to the elections.
The political impartiality of the police service underpins the legitimacy of the Force to enforce the law and enhance the safety of all those within the Force area. The public must therefore be confident that officers and staff will serve them loyally and impartially.
In terms of individual police officers specifically, section 60 of the PCC Election Order 2012 states:
Illegal canvassing by Police officers:
(1) No member of a police force for any police area may by word, message, writing or in any other manner, endeavour to persuade any person to give, or dissuade any person from giving, his or her vote, whether as an elector or as proxy at a PCC election
(2) A person acting in contravention of paragraph (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale
As explained by ACPO in advance of the inaugural elections for PCCs in 2012, “at its most literal, this could mean that any well-meaning officer who encourages the electorate to become involved in the elections would be acting contrary to this law and liable to prosecution, regardless of the fact they are not endorsing any political position”.
PRINCIPLES
The guiding principle for the OPCC and the Force remains that their officers and staff will refrain from undertaking any activity which could call into question the political neutrality of their organisations.
Officers and staff should test this principle by asking themselves:
· Does the activity appear to (or actually) favour one candidate against another, whether in terms of information or public profile?
· Is the activity likely to affect or influence the outcome of the election?
· Would the request being made of me compromise the conduct of normal business?
The general principles that will be applied are as follows:
· The OPCC and Force will continue to conduct normal, core business
· Candidates and parties will be treated even-handedly, for example in meeting information requests
· Contact information with candidates, and information provided to them by the OPCC and Force, will be published on the PCC’s website
· The OPCC and Force will have regard to equality and diversity
· Officers and staff must not do something for one candidate that they would not, or could not, undertake for another
· Police Officers and staff will not offer political opinions, nor make statements that do not reflect force policy
· Officers and staff must avoid putting themselves in a position or situation which could be used by a candidate to support their campaign
· Officers and staff must make themselves aware of the political restrictions and associated responsibilities that are present for them in relation to the election
· The OPCC and Force must not publish material that refers to, or could in any way be construed as being designed to affect support for, a party or candidate
· All candidates should be treated as members of the public when dealing with correspondence or requests for information. Whilst the OPCC and Force will be responsive to reasonable requests from candidates, there is no duty to interact with candidates in a way that those organisations would with an elected representative
· Care will be taken over announcements which could have a bearing on matters relevant to the election; however, this will be carefully balanced against any implications that delay could itself influence the political outcome or impede operational effectiveness.
CONDUCT OF OPCC STAFF
Staff members of the OPCC are expected to conduct OPCC business in a politically-impartial way at all times. It is important that they exercise even greater care and act with scrupulous impartiality during the pre-election period.
Staff are reminded that all posts within the OPCC (with the exception of the PCC himself) are politically restricted. Staff should therefore take care to ensure that any views shared are in context, appropriate and will not bring the OPCC into public disrepute by being seen to support or denigrate one candidate / party or another.
The current PCC is free to commit as much time as he feels he would like in support of the Conservative candidate. The only proviso to this is that no policing resource must go towards providing support to the Conservative candidate that wouldn’t also be available to the candidate of another party.
In the event that the PCC does provide support to the Conservative candidate he will notify the Chief Executive of the OPCC as to what he has provided, but there is no need for him to seek the consent of the Chief Executive in advance of delivery (this is a purely political support action on the part of the current PCC).
CONDUCT OF LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE OFFICERS
Over and above section 60 of the PCC Election Order 2012 (see above), Police Officers’ involvement in political activities is covered by Schedule 1 of The Police Regulations 2003 which states as follows:
“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 in particular a member of a police force shall not take any active part in politics.”
The Police Regulations apply to the conduct of an officer on or off-duty.
CONDUCT OF LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE STAFF
The terms and conditions of employment of police staff are not subject to the Police Regulations 2003. Police staff may canvass for a candidate or political party when off duty provided they do not seek to attribute their views to the Force or use the Force’s or OPCC’s resources to further their political views. When on duty, police staff should refrain from expressing support for a candidate or political party to the media or to members of the public.
Certain police staff will hold politically restricted posts and therefore cannot act as election agents or canvass for candidates or political parties in elections.
Although some police staff may not be precluded from assisting in an election campaign, police staff should consider carefully the assistance that they provide with regard to their precise role within the Force. For instance, a PSCO may feel that it would be more prudent to leaflet an area they don’t patrol in order to avoid the possibility that their political affiliation could become a source of conflict with members of the local community. Likewise, a manager may feel that adopting a high profile in support of one candidate may impact on the development of a harmonious working relationship with the PCC if a rival candidate were to succeed.
RESTRICTIONS
The following set out the restrictions placed on the communications activity of the OPCC and Force during the pre-election period.
Use of pre-existing police images and livery
Any campaign material which shows existing police images or livery could appear to show support for a candidate and therefore should not be allowed
The Force and OPCC will make clear to all parties and candidates that they do not have permission to use pre-existing photographs, livery of publicity involving officers or staff in their campaign material.
The Force and OPCC will request candidates to remove or withdraw such material if attempts are made to use them.
Taking of new photographs, recordings or film
All requests made by candidates to be filmed or photographed visiting police buildings and meeting Police officers, Police staff and OPCC staff will be declined, for fear that they may be used in publicity material which could suggest the Force or OPCC endorses their candidature.
Requests for fact finding visits
All requests by candidates to visit police stations / officers must be referred to the Chief Executive for the OPCC who will make a determination
There are no obligations to meet such requests. If they are agreed to, care will be taken to ensure they are for fact-finding purposes and not to generate publicity for a candidate.
A media presence at such visits will be avoided.
Meetings with candidates
All requests by candidates to meet with heads of department, Police area commanders, Neighbourhood Policing Teams, etc, must be referred to the Chief Executive of the OPCC who will make a determination.
Local commanders in particular have regular contact with their local representatives, keeping them updated on matters of interest in their area. However, if requests for meetings with candidates during the pre-election period are approved by the Chief Executive of the OPCC, care will be taken to avoid commenting on policies or statements which may be used by candidates in the election.
During the pre-election period, both the OPCC and the Force must continue with business as usual and this will include interaction with MPs and with councillors who may become candidates and therefore care must be exercised to say or do nothing which does, or may be appear to, favour anyone candidate.
OPCC and Force websites and social media accounts
During the pre-election period:
· The OPCC and Force will take reasonable precautions in the lead up to the election not to publish on their respective websites or associated social and digital media platforms any information about a politically controversial issue, or which identifies views or policies with those of individual candidates or political parties. This will also apply to individual officers and staff and their own social media accounts.
· Nothing will be published which includes a picture of, or quote from, a candidate
· All publicity will be strictly objective, concentrating on facts or explanations
· In advance of 30 March 2016, the Communications Officers of both the OPCC and Force will review existing pages on their respective websites to consider suspending any sections / pages which may contravene the principles and rules contained within this document
· In advance of 30 March 2016, the Communications Officers of both the OPCC and Force will check the links from their own websites and social and digital media platforms to ensure they are not connected in any way with the platforms and channels of others over which it has no control and which would contravene the principles and rules of this document. It may be necessary, during the pre-election period, to temporarily suspend the hosting of material produced by third parties or to close public forums to avoid breaching this document.