National Association of Legally Qualified Chairs

Applicants must meet one of the following nationality requirements: A spokesman for the Home Office said the presidents had been compensated and enjoyed common law immunity. He said he was « aware » of NALQC`s concerns and was working with them to « carefully consider their proposals. » « It is crucial to recognize that the misconduct process has become fairer and more transparent since the introduction of legally qualified chairpersons (LQCs), with fully independent bodies making decisions based on the evidence presented to them. We are proposing a bill that gives legally qualified individuals the power to set deadlines for investigations that have dragged on for more than a year. Possess dual citizenship, one of which falls into one of the above categories Applications are sought by qualified lawyers who can demonstrate integrity and independence of mind, commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, analysis, sound judgment and an objective approach to the issues presented. You must meet the condition of eligibility of judges on a 5-year basis under section 50 of the Tribunal, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. Participation in training is a mandatory recruitment condition for these positions, with the first training taking place on 7 October 2019. The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) will advocate for the continued use of legally qualified chairpersons (LQCs), who play a crucial role in ensuring that police misconduct hearings are fair and transparent, as this directly feeds into the Home Office`s review of dismissals. The police disciplinary system is plagued by delays as there is an impasse between the legally qualified presidents, known as the LQC, who preside over the majority of hearings, and the Ministry of Interior. The LQC is seeking compensation for the lawsuit filed by the officials they are firing because they fear facing six-figure payments in civil courts. Until the Interior Ministry agreed, most of them refused to accept new cases. The internal review will be launched shortly and aims to improve the dismissal process to raise standards and confidence in policing in England and Wales. Part of the investigation will include examining the impact of introducing changes to misconduct bodies, including legally qualified chairpersons.

Staff under the direction and control of a Gendarmerie/Police or Office of the Commissioner for Police and Crime (OPCC) in England and Wales, or qualified lawyers employed by a Gendarmerie, Police or OPCC in England and Wales, are not eligible to apply. In the Eastern Region, the police and penal commissioners have joined forces to appoint and maintain lists of legal chairpersons and independent members. The appointment of qualified chairpersons and independent members for a given case should be made in a fair and transparent manner by a Commissioner of Police and a Criminal Commissioner at the request of the Chief Constable. Interior Ministry guidelines state that « fair and transparent » generally means establishing a rotation system. The regional police and the criminal commissioners have prepared a statement on the functioning of their rotation system – selection of bodies for misconduct and police courts of appeal (PDF, 808KB). David Jamieson, Commissioner-elect of Police and Criminal Commissioner for the West Midlands, would like to appoint legally qualified chairpersons to join the list of people capable of conducting hearings on police misconduct. These hearings will deal with serious cases of misconduct in an important aspect of police disciplinary rules in England and Wales. Following a public consultation conducted by the Minister of the Interior in autumn 2014, changes were made to the police disciplinary system to achieve greater transparency, independence and justice. These included holding public hearings on police misconduct (starting in May 2015) and replacing chiefs of police (as chairs) with independent, legally qualified chairs (starting in January 2016). Presiding judges must comply with the requirement of appointment of judges on a 5-year basis under section 50 of the Courts, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. A Chair is selected from a list of legally qualified independent persons appointed by Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to conduct hearings on misconduct by special constables and police officers (but not senior police officers) and is subject to the Police Conduct Regulations.

The Interior Ministry has so far refused, saying the CCP`s compensation is sufficient. However, a survey of the 43 PCCs in England and Wales found that almost four in 10 were unwilling to compensate them due to concerns about potential costs. The backlog now stands at 176 cases, almost half of the total serious misconduct. Staff members continue to be paid in full, and some still carry As a general rule, the selection of a chairperson for a given hearing is on a rotational basis, with the next person on the list being appointed chairperson of the hearing. It is about ensuring that the process is fair. Successful candidates will also join the committees to preside over hearings of police commissioners and criminal commissioners in West Mercia, Staffordshire and Warwickshire, and work will therefore vary across the region. NALQC members have refused to open new hearings since November, with 67 hearings pending in three-quarters of the armed forces. « As a result, the system of police misconduct is not working properly because hearings are experiencing significant delays – which is not in the public or police service`s interest, » he said.

This unprecedented impasse has already led to significant delays in hearings, at a time when police discipline is under public scrutiny following damaging scandals exposing misogyny, sexism and other wrongdoing. There is no upper or lower age limit for candidates for this position, with the exception of a statutory retirement age for judicial appointments. The dispute was exacerbated by the case of a police officer who was fired for serious misconduct after allegedly lying to a court. The three-member committees, chaired by a legal expert with a senior police officer and a lay member, were established in 2016 to hear the most serious cases of serious misconduct involving the dismissal of officers. Qualified legal chairpersons` fees may be charged at the following rates: A Misconduct Hearing Panel is composed of three people: the Chair, a police officer of the rank of Superintendent or above, and an independent member. Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed. Travel expenses will only be reimbursed for standard fares. STANDARD ELIGIBILITY CLAUSES FOR THE SELECTION OF LEGALLY QUALIFIED CHAIRPERSONS We want to increase the diversity of our current body to make it more representative of our communities. Applications from underrepresented groups, particularly BAME, LGBTQ and female colleagues, are particularly welcome. Nearly 200 police officers accused of serious misconduct have not been disciplined and cannot be treated, many of whom are still working full pay. With our long-standing delay campaign, we are fighting for police investigations to be completed within 12 months of an allegation being made. They were designed to be more independent than the previous system in which senior officials conducted the disciplinary process, resulting in allegations of misconduct being « whitewashed » and swept under the rug.