Scrutiny panel 'shocked' with coverage of misconduct in 'To Catch A Copper'
The Independent Scrutiny of Police Powers Panel have responded to last month's Channel 4 documentary
A panel that scrutinises how police carry out their powers say they were 'shocked and disappointed' with the coverage of misconduct in a TV documentary.
Avon and Somerset's Independent Scrutiny of Police Powers Panel (ISoPP) called it a 'courageous' move - but added 'To Catch A Copper', shown last month on Channel 4, shows more is needed to rebuild trust and confidence.
Last month, the force said they did it to improve their ability to 'police by consent', however, the move has been criticised, which you can also read more about here: Police force criticised over TV documentary
The ISoPP recognised the move, in Avon and Somerset Police's 'absolute determination to root out all forms of police misconduct', however, they said the show 'laid bare how the Professional Standards Department and even the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) operate within systems and processes that result in decisions that protect the police rather than the public'.
They added that the showing of how misconduct is handled - and the examples of misconduct themselves - all added to create 'serious implications for policing by consent' - the foundation of policing here in Britain.
ISoPP, which is a group of volunteers from across the Avon and Somerset force region, are calling for a 'radical overhaul of the system' to make sure officers can proactively identify and remove those people that undermine trust and confidence in the police.
They noted the 'excellent work' the 'vast majority' of officers do - something Chief Constable Sarah Crew also mentioned in explaining why the force decided to let in the TV crews.
The group has called it 'distressing' to still see cases like the Bedminster bus incident in 2020, which was shown on TV in the second episode.
They added: "After all the work having been done since 2017 in the wake of the Judah Adunbi case, where a 62 year old grandfather was tasered in the face in a case of mistaken identity, a case that prompted the Police and Crime Commissioner to create the ISoPP panel, the hope was that with the use of scrutiny and learnings from this, combined with use of body worn video (BWV) incidents like these would be a thing of the past.
"Sadly, they are not.
"As an independent panel, we escalate our questions and challenge Avon and Somerset Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner as to what they plan to do in the light of the continued police misconduct that has brought policing into disrepute, damaged trust and confidence, particularly in black communities and deters good people from joining the police.
"It is disappointing that over the last 18 months the ISOPP found only 64% of the cases scrutinised had adequate BWV. Furthermore, the Bedminster bus case demonstrated a failure in acceptance by patrol officers of the importance of de-escalation. We also wish to highlight concerns about how reflective practice, on which the complaints regime appears to rely, is delivered and monitored. This is compounded by continued overarching doubts about the effectiveness of supervision, which seems to weaken as it filters down from senior management to the front line.
"As representatives of the wider public in Avon and Somerset, we will continue to use the ISOPP platform to probe, question and challenge the police. However, these collective concerns emphasise that more is needed to make the tangible changes to transform negative cultures and to ensure our communities trust and confidence is central to policing."