Misconduct Hearings

Under the latest Police (Conduct) Regulations, which came into force 1 February 2020, misconduct hearings and accelerated misconduct hearings for police officers are held in public.  There may, however, be circumstances where this is not appropriate and the hearing, or parts of the hearing, will be heard in private.  This decision is at the discretion of the Chair who make take into consideration any representations submitted by the relevant parties.

The Chair of a misconduct hearing will be appointed from a list of independent legally qualified individuals and the Chair of an accelerated misconduct hearing will be a Chief Officer.

The facts of the case will be heard by the panel and this may include live witness evidence.  The Panel will then consider the case and if they find the behaviour of the officer amounts to misconduct or gross misconduct the following options are available to them:

If misconduct found:

• Dismissal without Notice
• Reduction in Rank
• Final Written Warning
• Written Warning

If gross misconduct found:

• Dismissal without Notice
• Reduction in Rank
• Final Written Warning

Attending a Misconduct Hearing

Notice of a public hearing will be published below not less than five working days before. This will include details of the date, time and venue of the hearing. Publication of further details of the case will be subject to the consideration of the Chair.

Venues will have a limited number of seats set aside for members of the public and accredited press/media representatives. Seats may be allocated in advance of the hearing and the publication of the hearing will provide details of how to reserve a seat. In such cases, when you receive confirmation of an allocated seat you will also be provided with the conditions of entry.

You may be subject to a security search and may need to present valid photographic identification prior to entering the hearing. The Chair of the hearing may impose further conditions such as reporting, recording and photography restrictions and members of the public or press should refer to directions given in individual cases.

Public Hearings

Hearings are listed two weeks in advance, with information on how to apply to attend.