Ethics document “just seems like more paperwork”

ALL police officers will have to sign up to a new compulsory Code of Ethics next year.

A draft College of Policing code of ethics “emphasises the importance of personal integrity, honesty and fairness.”

However Mark Smith, chairman of Essex Police Federation, said that everything in the document was already covered by Police Conduct Regulations.  “It just seems like more paperwork,” he said.

According to the College of Policing, eventually the ethics document will apply to more than 220,000 police officers and staff across England and Wales.

It is unclear at this stage whether officers will have to physically sign a document – or if chiefs will sign it on behalf of their force.

Police officers, staff and the public are being asked until the end of November for their views on the draft code before the final version is published in the spring.

Mr Smith added: “Perhaps our members of Parliament should be subjected to a Code of Ethics too…”

The police document is divided into ten areas covering honesty and integrity; authority, respect and courtesy; equality and diversity; use of force; orders and instructions; work and responsibilities; confidentiality; fitness for work; conduct; and challenging and reporting improper conduct.

Examples of phrases that officers will have to sign up to in the draft document include, “ensure your decisions are not influenced by self-interest or considerations of personal gain,” a promise to “step forward and take control when required” and to “only give orders or instructions which you reasonably believe to be lawful.”

Police officers will – according to the draft document – have to agree to “maintain strictly professional behaviour when on duty, including not engaging in sexual conduct or other inappropriate behaviour.”

In the code’s section on fitness for work, officers are told they must not make themselves “unfit or impaired for duty as a result of drinking alcohol, using an illegal drug or using a substance for non-medical purposes or intentionally misusing a prescription drug”.

Chief Constable Alex Marshall, Chief Executive of the College of Policing, said: “The Code of Ethics is a first for policing in England and Wales. It is a national document reflecting the core principles and standards of behaviour that every member of the police service should strive to maintain.”

Steve Williams, chairman of the Police Federation, said that officers “must quite rightly be expected to deliver high standards of ethics and integrity” and that the current oath of attestation sworn by police officers is the cornerstone of British policing and enshrines these values.

He added: “We support any initiative that reaffirms this high oath of office in respect of police officers and in the eyes of the public to whom we serve and look forward to working with the College of Policing on progressing this most important issue.”