There is no cap on how long an allegation against a police officer can be investigated. Misconduct cases can take years to conclude, impacting on mental health and the public purse. PFEW is working with Parliament to change this as well securing other essential protections, including tougher sentences for assaults against emergency workers.

Key learnings:

•        Building relationships with parliamentarians is key to achieving change for emergency workers.
•        The Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing Bill contains a number of provisions which PFEW has lobbied for, such as a police covenant and driver protections.
•        However, there is no limit on how long investigations against officers can take to be determined. There is absolutely no power for anybody to intervene, scrutinise or question investigations until they reach a hearing.
•        Last year there were still about 40 investigations into officers that were still ongoing after 12 months.