Renaming IPCC will not automatically gain police trust

IT WILL take a lot more than renaming the Independent Police Complaints Commission for police officers to trust the organisation, Essex Police Federation has said.

“I don’t think it’s going to make any difference whatsoever,” said Chairman Mark Smith.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will be reformed and renamed the Office for Police Conduct.

The Home Secretary said the change is to “improve efficiency, drive more effective governance and make it more responsive to the public”.

Mr Smith added: “Changing the name of the IPCC will not affect our members. What affects our members is how badly they investigate things and how badly they go over the top to try and find guilt where guilt isn’t there.

“That’s the type of thing I keep an eye on with the IPCC together with our conduct secretary.”

Theresa May has concluded that “the IPCC’s existing governance model is no longer suitable for the expanding organisation and in light of its enhanced role in the reformed police disciplinary and complaints systems, which will be overhauled as a result of measures in the Policing and Crime Bill”.

On 7 March, the Home Secretary announced her intention to bring forward amendments to the Bill to create a new governance model for the police complaints body.

Mr Smith concluded: “I don’t think rebadging is going to change what and how they feel about police officers. It just seems that they’re out to get police officers, to a certain extent, and they just don’t trust police officers, no matter what they are or what departments they’re in.

“I’m not sure that rebadging is a, ‘Please come and talk with us and let’s work better together’. I think there’s a lot more that’s got to change within the IPCC for it to actually be a group that work well with police officers who don’t want corruption and would be willing to work with them, but not in the way that they work now.”