Amess: Power of Independent Police Complaints Commission is “zilch”

 Southend West Conservative MP has condemned the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) following a series of questions to various ministers.

 Mr Amess said he was moved to speak on the IPCC in the House of Commons today due to the number of complaints he has received about the body.

 ”I get any number of complaints about all sorts of issues involving the police,” he said.

 “The journey through the IPCC can go on for one, two, three, four and five years. At the end of it, the IPPC’s powers to gain anything, such as apologies, compensation or change in police force practice, are zilch.

 “In Essex, there is a high turnover of police officers, especially at a senior level. That is not a particularly good thing. They all seem to retire early, for all manner of reasons. That shows the difficulty in conducting IPCC inquiries.

“I have the highest regard for the Minister for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing. He said in a written answer to me that the IPCC is not responsible for imposing disciplinary sanctions on police forces or individuals.

 ”What is the point of the IPCC if it cannot impose discipline on police officers who are found guilty of abusing their powers? When a police officer has a complaint upheld against him, he is offered “words of advice”—would not Members of Parliament like to be offered “words of advice”?—from a senior officer.

 “What message does that convey? More important, what deterrent is that? I suspect that I was one of the few Members of Parliament who responded to the consultation process to try to give the IPCC more power so that, when people’s complaints were successful, at least small amounts of compensation could be paid and public apologies could be made.

 “The Public Accounts Committee, which my hon. Friend Mr. Leigh admirably chairs, has done a splendid job in investigating the IPCC.

 “In its 15th report, which was published only in March, the Committee made some excellent recommendations, including that the Home Office should clarify who is responsible for monitoring the implementation of IPCC recommendations.

 “I have been in constant correspondence with Ministers about it, and the replies are just not satisfactory.”

  Mr Amess has made a series of inquiries into the IPCC over the past few weeks. In a written question, he asked the Home Secretary: “what funding she plans to provide to the IPCC in each of the next three years, and what discussions she has had with the IPCC on its future funding since January 2009?”

 He received a response from Vernon Coaker, Minister of State for Policing, Crime and Security, which read:

 “The Home Office is providing funding of £36.7 million to the IPCC for 2009-10.

“This includes funding for its remit in respect of serious complaints made against staff of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

 “In addition, the IPCC also receives funding from the UK Border Agency, and HM Revenue and Customs to fund its complaints investigation work in respect of those organisations.

 “Funding levels for future years have not yet been determined.”