Clause 34
Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill
3:00 pm
Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office; Wythenshawe and Sale East, Labour)
I am happy to try to clarify the powers in the clause and explain what would happen if we adopted the amendment.
The hon. Gentleman’s amendment would mean that any breach of the code would automatically result in disciplinary action against the officer who had transgressed it. All Committee members would expect that most breaches of the code—certainly serious ones—would result in disciplinary action under the direction of the Chief Constable.
We need to bear in mind, however, that in somerare situations a very minor breach of the code by experienced officers in difficult situations may lead the Chief Constable to conclude that it is not necessary for that officer to face disciplinary action. It is important that experienced officers doing their job in good faith and who may make a minor breach of the code can know confidently that they will get the support of their Chief Constable. We do not want minor transgressions to lead automatically to such police officers having their reputations tarnished. I remind the Committee that the issue could be subject to an investigation by the police ombudsman; if there were a complaint about the decision not to take disciplinary action, that could be investigated by the ombudsman. I hope that that satisfies the hon. Gentleman.