FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST
REQUEST NUMBER: FOI Request 003468-16
REQUEST DETAILS:
“Please provide any documentary evidence which would ensure that all your constables and PCSO's have been adequately briefed on your Code of Ethics' when dealing with the public, as required by HMIC’.”
RESPONSE:
Suffolk Constabulary has considered your request for information and our response is below.
This response is correct as of 17 September 2016.
Suffolk Constabulary, along with all police forces across the country, is the subject of regular inspections to ensure that it offers local communities a high quality policing service which keeps people safe.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) independently assesses police forces and policing across the full range of activities from neighbourhood policing to serious crime and the fight against terrorism.
The Inspectorate’s aim is to drive improvements in the service – and its reports allow the public to compare the performance of Suffolk Constabulary with other forces, as well as finding out how the force is improving over time.
One of the Inspectorate’s key pieces of work is the annual programme of force inspections, known as the PEEL (police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy) assessments.
The latest information on the PEEL assessment for Suffolk Constabulary is published on the HMIC website via the following link and specifically identifies the awareness to the Code of Ethics:
http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/peel-assessments/peel-2015/suffolk/legitimacy/
Additionally, the 2016 HMIC inspection noted the Constabulary staffs wide understands of the code of ethics:
https://www.suffolk.police.uk/news/latest-news/suffolk-constabulary-praised-its-treatment-public
The HMIC inspection of Police Integrity and Corruption in 2014 identifies that the Constabulary’s Integrity and working group managed the introduction of the code of Ethics.
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/suffolk-crime-and-integrity.pdf
There are various documents available on the Police and Crime Commissioners website concerning the implementation of the code of ethics into Suffolk Constabulary:
http://www.suffolk-pcc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Code-of-Ethics.pdf
http://www.suffolk-pcc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Implementation-and-embedding-of-the-Code-of-Ethics.pdf
‘Code of ethics’ training is mandatory training on all Initial courses, which includes Student Officers, PCSO, Special Constabulary and Transferees and forms a part of the curriculum provided by the College of policing.
http://www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/Ethics/Pages/Code-of-Ethics.aspx
Those established in post have been trained following First Aid Module 2 refresher sessions that are attended by all frontline Officers and staff.
The Constabulary also circulates regular reminders to staff and officers of the principles and standards required of them, under the Code of Ethics.
The attached ‘Code of Ethics Announcement’, Code of Ethics Posters and codes of ethics summary, are all available to staff and officers.
The Suffolk Constabulary in complying with their statutory duty under sections 1 and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed information 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 the Information Compliance Manager, Suffolk Constabulary Headquarters, Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, IP5 3QS.