VETTING AND MISCONDUCT PROCEDURE

March 2008

VETTING

New members will be vetted when they join Hertfordshire Independent Advisory Group (IAG).  It is necessary for IAG members to be vetted for the safety, integrity and security of the member, the IAG, and the Constabulary.   Members will then be re vetted every three years until such time as they leave the IAG.

Anyone with a criminal prosecution pending would be asked to wait to join the Group until the outcome of their case was known.

Anyone refusing to go through the vetting procedure will not be invited to join the Group or allowed to continue as a member if already selected.

If an IAG member is arrested or is investigated by law enforcement, or commits a criminal offence they must inform the Chair as soon as practically possible.  The matter will then be taken to the Executive Committee who will, in conjunction with the Vetting & Disclosure Unit, make a decision as to the continuation of their membership.  In the case of recent relevant offending, IAG membership will be terminated.

Vetting Process

IAG members are classed as ‘Non Police Personnel’, and there is no cost to the member involved in the vetting.

Non Police Personnel vetting provides:

• A level of protection for Police premises, assets and personnel
• An appropriate level of assurance as to the trustworthiness and integrity of individuals working with Hertfordshire Constabulary, or handling Hertfordshire Constabulary information

Only the IAG member will be vetted, and this will mainly consist of criminal and Police intelligence background checks.  IAG members will be checked against the Crime Information System (CIS), the Intelligence Management System (IMS), the Community Safety Suite, and the Police National Computer (PNC).

All Non Police Personnel are required to disclose on the vetting form if they have any convictions or bind overs, regardless of whether they would be regarded as ‘Spent’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

The vetting process requires IAG members to prove their identity by showing an authorised member of Hertfordshire Constabulary a form of identity such as a passport for verification.

The vetting process is confidential, and each individual being vetted is dealt with on a case to case basis, there is no automatic barring.  The decision made with regards to acceptability for membership resides with the Vetting & Disclosure Unit, not the Executive Committee or Hertfordshire Constabulary employees involved with the IAG.  If rejected, an appeal can be made to the Vetting & Disclosure Manager.

MISCONDUCT

Misconduct is any conduct likely to bring disrepute on the Group or is outside the agreed Terms of Reference or Code of Conduct.

The following is the procedure to be adopted in the event of any breaches of the above protocols.  This process is intended for use where the breaches are of a more serious nature and is not necessarily designed for the lower level breaches.  Each case should be judged on the individual circumstances and a proportionate and common sense approach should be adopted.

Initial Action

Any IAG member, Police Officer/Police Staff or member of the public may raise an issue or make a complaint about the conduct of an IAG member. Additionally, a matter may come to light that falls under the Misconduct procedure.

Once an allegation has been received, the IAG will then convene an Investigation Panel comprising of three IAG members.  This panel will be made up of the three IAG Chairs representing Central, Eastern and Western Areas (in some circumstances it may be appropriate to use Vice Chairs as panel members).

This panel, in the first instance will be responsible for deciding (on the facts available) whether it is necessary to temporarily remove the member complained about from IAG duties until the conclusion of their Investigation.

Investigation Process

The Investigation Panel will convene in private to discuss the issue(s) and arrive at a decision accordingly.  In the interests of fairness and in order to assist the decision making process, the individual subject to the Investigation will be given the opportunity to make any representations prior to the Panel making any decision.

Where practicable, Investigations will be completed at the earliest opportunity and in any event within an 8 week period.  The member complained about must be kept informed at every stage of the process.

Should an IAG member resign during the Investigation, the Investigation will continue until finalisation.

In the event that it is established that there has been a misconduct breach, the Panel will be required to recommend the appropriate outcome where appropriate (see below), and document their decision with supporting rationale accordingly.

The Panels’ decision will be communicated to both the Executive Committee and the individual concerned as soon as practicable.

Appeal

Following the Panel’s recommendation, the member complained about has a right of appeal to the Executive Committee within 14 days of being informed of the Panels’ decision.  The appeal must be submitted in writing and contain the details for the grounds for the appeal.

The Executive Committee will review the Panels’ decision, together with the appeal document(s) before making a recommendation accordingly.  This decision will be final.

The outcome will be communicated to the individual concerned as soon as practicable.

Outcomes

Following the conclusion of a Panels’ investigation or an appeal it will be the responsibility of the Executive Committee to administer or implement any of the following outcomes:

• A confidential informal discussion and advice where necessary
• Written warning (see Appendix A)
• Final written warning
• De selection from the IAG

In the event that a member receives a written warning, this will be expunged following a six months period.

In the event that a member receives a final written warning, this will be expunged following a 12 month period.

APPENDIX A

Dear (Details)

Re IAG Panel Findings (date)

The purpose of this letter is to confirm the outcome of the findings following the recent Panel Investigation.

We have reviewed the Panel’s findings/appeal details (Delete as appropriate) and we are happy with/we have reviewed (delete as appropriate) the recommendations made by the Panel.  You were informed on (Date) that you would be receiving a written warning/final written warning (Delete as appropriate).

A copy of this letter will be retained by The Executive Committee for 6/12 months (delete as appropriate) from the date of this letter.  After 6/12 months (delete as appropriate) your conduct will be reviewed and assuming this has been satisfactory, the warning will be destroyed.  You will be expected to (Details of standards of conduct/improvement expected).  If the required improvement is not made, or further misconduct, whether or not of the same nature occurs whilst this warning is in place, this may lead to further action up to and including de-selection.

The summary of the proceedings of the hearing is detailed below.

The panel convened in order to investigate the allegation that (Details).

We then considered the Panels’ recommendations and you decided to/not to (Details) appeal against their findings.  We took into account the available evidence, the nature and consequence of the conduct and any mitigating circumstances before reaching a decision.  On this basis we decided that this course of action, namely a written warning/final written warning is justified.

If you have any queries in relation to the above, please contact (details)

Yours sincerely

Executive IAG

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