Introduction

Appointment of Legally Qualified Chairs and Independent Panel Members for Police Misconduct Panels

Thank you for your interest in the roles of Legally Qualified Chair and Independent Panel Members of Police Misconduct Hearings.

These posts represent an opportunity to be involved in one of the most important responsibilities in policing – upholding the high professional standards the public expects from our police service. Police misconduct panels are an important contributor to public confidence in policing - dishonest and inappropriate behaviour damages the public’s trust in the police service ability to keep them safe.

This recruitment exercise comes at a time when the importance of a fair disciplinary process is central to policing and the public’s confidence in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). Over the last 18 months there has been significant focus on the culture and standards of behaviour within policing, following Baroness Casey’s review into the MPS culture and the Commissioner’s publication of his New Met for London reform plans.

Legally Qualified Chairs were introduced in 2017 and currently play a critically important role in misconduct panels. The role involves reading papers in advance of any hearing, making key decisions in the build up to the hearing, such as regarding disclosure and may involve holding a pre-hearing, chairing the proceedings in accordance with the Regulations and the provision of full reasons in writing for the decision reached by the misconduct hearing.

Independent Panel Members were introduced in 2018. They are also a key component of the police misconduct system, assisting panels in coming to fair and evidence based decisions about a particular officer’s conduct and appropriate outcomes arising from those decisions. They provide an independent and impartial voice on these panels and provide assurance to the community that conduct matters are treated seriously.

In this website we cover the context and detail of both posts, their professional requirements and terms and conditions. For the LQC post we also discuss how the role may change over the course of time. I hope you find this information helpful in understanding the nature of the roles we are looking to fill.

I look forward to receiving your application.

Kind regards

Judith Mullett

Head of MPS Oversight – Workforce and Professionalism

We held a virtual “open evening” about these roles, discussing their context and with existing appointees sharing their experience. To view a recording please click on the link below:

https://youtu.be/dfhXixsznm8