Section 19 of the Police Act 1998 is short, but disciplinary officers do most of the work of Part IV.
Section 19
(1) The Commissioner may from time to time and at any time appoint commissioned officers to act as disciplinary officers for the purposes of this Part.
(2) Where the Commissioner acts as a disciplinary officer, the provisions of this Part apply with any necessary modifications.
Commissioned officers only. A disciplinary officer must hold a commission. That connects to section 24(2)(b), which requires the officer investigating a serious charge to be of superior rank to the member charged.
“From time to time and at any time”. Appointment may be standing or for a particular matter. There is no fixed panel.
The Commissioner may act personally. Section 19(2) contemplates it, with the Part applying with necessary modifications — because several provisions assume the Commissioner is reviewing a disciplinary officer’s decision, which is impossible where the Commissioner made it.
The two different roles
| Minor offences — s 21 | Serious offences — ss 23–25 | |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Decides and imposes penalty | Investigates and reports — the Commissioner decides |
| Who may act | The Commissioner, or a disciplinary officer, in respect of a member of lesser rank | A disciplinary officer appointed by the Commissioner, not the person who laid the charge, and of superior rank to the member charged |
| Penalties | s 22 — caution to forfeiture of a week’s pay | s 26 — up to dismissal |
| Review | To the Commissioner within 7 days — s 22(4) | To the Commissioner within 7 days — s 26(5); otherwise no appeal |
On a minor offence a disciplinary officer is the decision-maker. On a serious charge the officer is an investigator: section 24(1) requires the Commissioner to appoint a disciplinary officer to investigate the matter and report, and section 25(2) reserves the imposition of penalty to the Commissioner.
The Commissioner may impose a penalty “whether or not that penalty is recommended by the disciplinary officer” — so the recommendation does not bind.
The independence requirements
A disciplinary officer appointed to investigate a serious charge shall be —
(a) a person other than the person who has charged the member; and
(b) of superior rank to the member charged.
Under section 23(2), a member may be charged by the Commissioner or by a commissioned officer authorised under section 19 to lay charges. Section 24(2)(a) then requires the investigating officer to be someone else.
A second layer appears in section 25(4): where the Commissioner does not accept in the first instance that a charge is not sustained, the matter must be referred to a disciplinary officer not connected with the first recommendation for review and report — and that second recommendation “will be accepted without further formality”.
That is a significant provision. It prevents the Commissioner from sending a matter back repeatedly until a favourable recommendation is obtained: the second opinion is final.
Limits on delegating a review
The Commissioner’s power to delegate under section 17 is limited, for the purposes of reviewing a disciplinary officer’s decision, to a power to delegate to a member of equal or higher rank than that of the disciplinary officer whose decision is under review.
So a review cannot be sent to someone junior to the original decision-maker. It is one of the few structural protections in Part IV, and it applies to both the minor offence review under section 22 and the serious offence review under section 26.
Sections 22(7) and 26(8) allow the Commissioner to direct that a penalty imposed by a specified rank of disciplinary officers shall not be put into execution until confirmed by the Commissioner.
Sections 22(8) and 26(9) then provide that the power to confirm includes the power to increase or otherwise vary the penalty in any way not inconsistent with the Act.
That last point is important for a member considering a review: on confirmation, the penalty can go up.
Reporting to the Commissioner
Section 22(3) requires penalties imposed by a disciplinary officer for minor offences to be reported to the Commissioner at such intervals as the Commissioner directs. That gives the Commissioner visibility over the exercise of a power that is otherwise devolved.
Where the disciplinary process concerns a member who is also facing criminal proceedings, sections 32 to 34 apply — see what happens when a member is charged with a crime. And a disciplinary officer conducting an inquiry may be assisted by the Commissioner’s section 14 powers to summon witnesses and require documents, subject to the preservation of the privilege against self-incrimination in section 14(5).
Sources
- Police Act 1998 — ss 14, 17, 19, 21–26, 32–34
- Constitution — ss 37, 59
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Police Act 1998 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.