HMIC: Stricter processes needed to regulate undercover operations
Undercover officer activity in all 43 forces in England and Wales needs to be more stringently regulated, according to a report by Her Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
Undercover officer activity in all 43 forces in England and Wales needs to be more stringently regulated, according to a report by Her Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
Following a series of accusations relating to the conduct of officers on clandestine missions, from Mark Kennedy and other officers conducting relationships with women in groups they were monitoring to the recent allegations that officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) infiltrated Stephen Lawrences family and friends as part of a smear campaign, the HMIC report released today says recommendations in its previous 2012 report had not been fully implemented.
Acknowledging the key role of intelligence-gathering in determining how protests and other events are policed, the report accepts the use of undercover operations to build evidence regarding serious criminality.
However, it reiterated the need to act within the remit of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) on necessary and appropriate deployment and calls for tougher procedures to ensure such operations are signed-off at a senior level, as is the case when seeking permission to undertake tasks such as intercepting telephone conversations.
Among a series of recommendations, HMIC called for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to review its decade-old guidance and give serious consideration to establishing a system of prior approval for pre-planned, long-term intelligence development operations, which should be agreed by the Office of Security Commissioners (OSC).
Authorising officers should review an operation that lasts longer than six months, the report also said, with the OSC also to be informed. It added ACPO should collaborate with the Home Office to devise a better definition of domestic extremism in order to determine when such powers are needed.
The deployment of undercover officers is inherently risky. It can result in the intrusion into the lives not just of criminals, but of their innocent associates, and of other members of the public, the report said.
Significant work has been done to improve the way in which the police deal with undercover operations. However, we are concerned that there are still several recommendations that have not been implemented.
Tom Winsor, Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Constabulary, said the Stephen Lawrence revelations this week has rightly resulted in much debate about how the tactic has been and should be used, adding he shared the concerns of government ministers and the public over its use.
The HMIC report follows on from evidence given to the Home Affairs Select Committee this month by Policing and Criminal Justice Minister Damian Green, who called for legislative changes to ensure all undercover policing is signed off by chief constables and subject to rigorous independent monitoring by the OSC.
Commander Richard Martin, national policing lead for undercover policing, agreed that tougher scrutiny and supervision of undercover operations is needed to ensure public support for such policing methods is maintained.
HMICs review rightly recognises the critical role undercover officers play in gathering evidence and intelligence to protect communities from harm, he said.
We should not underestimate the considerable risk that officers within this arena put themselves at in order to protect our communities. It is hugely important that the public has confidence that police use of these vital tactics is lawful, ethical, necessary and proportionate. HMICs review finds that significant work has been done to improve the way police deal with undercover operations.
The scrutiny and supervision of these types of operation are now far more intrusive than they have ever been. However, there is more to do to ensure that undercover policing is effectively utilised and regulated and ACPO will continue to work with the government, the College of Policing, the OSC and HMIC to achieve this.
Alex Marshall, chief executive of the College of Policing, said he wi