Draft minutes

The Chair welcomed members of the Independent Police Ethics Committee (ETHICS COMMITTEE) to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Dame Beverley Hughes and Committee Member Paul Horrocks.

There were none.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 September 2019 were submitted for approval. It was agreed the minutes were an accurate reflection of the meeting.

It was noted that Item EC/19/28 did not make reference to the further meeting on cyber/hate crime and bullying, this would be amended accordingly.                      

RESOLVED/-

1.      That, subject to the above amendment, the minutes of the meeting of 10 September 2019 be agreed as an accurate record of the meeting.

GMP Officers provided the Committee with a verbal update on issues surrounding the retention of human tissue.

Following mistakes made in a case that had drawn national attention. GMP had previously liaised with the Committee in its research around the adoption of national guidelines. It was advised that national guidelines contained three classifications determining the types of material held – these were:

• Class 1: Material taken at a post-mortem examination that would not normally be considered as part of the body (e.g. scrapings, fingernails, hair and stomach contents)
• Class 2: Samples of human tissue which are not a significant part of the body (e.g. blood samples, small tissue, blocks, slides etc)
• Class 3:  Samples of human tissue that incorporates a significant part of the body (e.g. organs, limbs etc)

…and that the method of disposal for each would generally be as follows:

• Class 1: Disposal by incineration
• Class 2: Where the family are still contactable and have stated that they would like the material to be returned, then contact them and offer to return the material (advising them of the potential health hazards and recommend handling through an undertaker); alternatively, it can be disposed of through incineration on behalf of the family.
• Class 3: Where the family is still contactable and they have stated that they would like the material to be returned
  • And is within five years of the post-mortem
    • Be contacted with the offer of returning the material (advising them of the potential health hazards and recommend handling through an undertaker, and only returning when arrangements are in place for the burial or cremation of the body part or organ)
    • Disposed of, with arrangements made for the material to be cremated in suitable circumstances or in accordance with their culture/religion

§  Returned, a balance should be struck between the significance of the material and the time from the post-mortem examination. The more significant the material, the longer the period of time should be allowed after the post-mortem to contact the family about disposal

§  Disposed of (as above)

Where they have not expressed a wish for the material to be returned, or are not contactable, the material should be dealt with exactly as if they had asked for it to be returned.

Following a request from the Assistant Chief Constable that all samples be found and categorised, GMP had become aware of a significant number of extra samples, including around 700 samples in category 2, creating a substantial amount of work.

The Deputy Mayor and the Home Office Pathology Team were being kept regularly updated on any developments.

Comments and Questions

Discussion took place around the categorisation of hair, and whether it should be considered as Class 1 or Class 2. It was explained that national policy determined that a plucked hair would remain Class 1. It was emphasised that this would likely be a single strand of hair, rather than a full locket.

Committee Members expressed concern that despite  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

A paper was presented to the Committee providing an update on the use of spit bite guards, six months after their introduction in custody.

GMP had been piloting the use of spit guards in its custody environment from June 2019 and had recorded eight deployments to date. The introduction had taken place after sufficient staff in custody; both Sergeants and Custody Detention Officers had been trained in their use. Following each use in a custody environment, there was a requirement for the Sergeant to submit an adverse incident form, which provided an overview of the incident allowing it to be reviewed with regards to proportionality and legality.

Observations included:

• Approximately 20,000 people had been through custody in the six months the trial had been in operation – only utilising the spit guard eight times in that period made for a very small sample size.
• There had been no availability or stock issues at any of the eight custody sites in the trial, nor any shortage of trained officers available (though the training process would continue long-term).
• Seven of the eight incidents involved a level of drink and/or drug intoxication.
• There was a mix of ethnicity and on two of the eight occasions; the guard had been used on female detainees.
• On two of the eight occasions, the detainees had gone on to receive mental health assessments in custody and were subsequently detained under section two of the Mental Health Act.
• One incident had involve usage on a 16-year-old child – this had raised concerns, however the report on the reasoning behind its use led to satisfaction that the usage was proportional in that case.

Following the successful custody trial period – it was the intention of GMP to continue usage and extend the equipment to all frontline officers to provide them with an approved tactical option in dealing with this type of assault. Recorded assault figures showed increasing trends in this areas and indicated that the majority of these assaults occurred outside of the custody suite at the point of arrest. It was also highlighted that the Police Federation had continued to voice concerns about a vast under-reporting of this type of assault.

The equipment would be rolled out with a specific policy and risk assessment in place that would detail accepted usage. Full training would also be provided to officers during planned self-defence courses. No officer would be issued with the equipment before having fully completed the training programme. Monitoring the use of the equipment would continue via the existing ‘Use of Force’ forms.

Comments and Questions

Committee Members asked if the use of the guards had an impact upon the demeanour of the prisoner. Had it calmed then? Or instead made them liable to react more violently?

It was advised that given the sample size of eight people no clear overall view could be formed, as it had resulted in various types of reaction. A type of guard had been specifically purchased that used a thin mesh substance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

An update was provided to the Committee on the programme of work to recruit new members to the Independent Police Ethics Committee.

At the September 2019 meeting, Members had been presented with a draft role profile and person specification for consideration and comment. The revised and finalised documents were then approved by the Chair following the meeting.

The application pack had been issued – with the advert inviting applications being disseminated through various local demographics and advertised online. 27 expressions of interest had been received up until the date of the meeting, and whilst only one application pack had been received back – three weeks remained until the submission deadline and it was expected that many of the packs would be filled in over the Christmas period for submission in early January 2020. It was expected that interviews would take place at the beginning of February 2020.

Comments and Questions

Members asked if any information was available on the diversity of demographics in the 27 applications received so far. It was advised that these details were not available yet but monitoring information was asked for within the application pack.

Nasir Hafezi advised that although he would be standing down from the following this meeting – he would be happy to continue as a Committee Member should the Interview Panel find that the applications received were not of sufficient quality for appointment.

RESOLVED/-

1. That the update on the IPEC member recruitment process be noted.

Committee Members opened the item asking that their thanks be noted on record to Smyth Harper for his advice on this item over the years, and wished him luck in his new role outside of the GMCA.

At its meeting in June 2019, the Committee had agreed the Communications Strategy, which would focus on the need to build understanding of the Committee’s work and remit within GMP and relevant advisory bodies. Some recent key areas to note included:

• Arrangements having been made for the Chair to present the work of the Committee to the Police and Crime Steering Group on 28 January 2020.
• Consideration of the videos provided by a member of the Committee (to be discussed in more detail in EC/19/38).
• Consideration of the production of ‘vox pop’ videos – these would involve short pieces to the camera about the work of the Committee that could be used at events, on the website and on social media. (Some of these videos had been recorded prior to the commencement of this meeting).
• Further development on the raising of awareness within GMP (through all ranks through newsletters, training inputs and unions). There had been a commitment from the Deputy Mayor and Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling to look at this in the New Year.

Comments and Questions

Concern was expressed about the Committee Remit section of the Committee’s presentation for the Police and Crime Steering Group, namely the sentence:

“Through its work the committee aims to enhance the perception of the legitimacy of GMP across the communities of Greater Manchester”

The term ‘perception of legitimacy’ was the primary concern, and the impression that the use of the term may create, alternative versions of the sentence proposed included:

“Through its work the Committee aim to be independent critical friends, able to provide robust criticism of GMP when that is called for”

Or

“Through its work the Committee seek to provide advice to GMP, enabling it to improve ethical standards in all areas of policing”

Dave Byrne advised that this would be taken in account and that the Terms of Reference could be sent to the Committee early in the New Year for its feedback.

A discussion took place about the involvement of the Committee in live operational matters. With some concern expressed that Committee Members may lose some sense of independence and ability to reflect if directly involved in an operational matter than has required a review. It was suggested that a further look at the parameters around this could take place at the March meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED/-

1. That the update on the Communications Strategy be noted by the Committee.

2. That the alternative wording suggested for the bottom of the Committee Remit be taken forward by officers.

3. That the Terms of Reference be sent on to Committee Members when available.

4. That further consideration of Committee involvement in Operational Matters be included on the agenda of the March 2020 meeting.

Nasir Hafezi advised that he had prepared some videos highlighting the work of the Committee, as aids for the general public who did not get the insight into the challenges that the police faced on a daily basis and the ethical factors that they had to weigh up in decision-making processes. These short video clips would be designed to address particular situations and pose the question “what would you do?” He stated that he would be happy to help in writing the scripts and producing the videos, or alternatively, the GMCA themselves could take the concept forward.

Dave Byrne explained that GMCA officers, including the Communications Team liked the examples produced so far, however the IPEC did not have its own pot of funding, so the funding would have to be via the GMCA and thus go through a public procurement process. As long as Mr Hafezi was happy to be subject to this process, then his proposal to self-produce on behalf of the GMCA would certainly be considered.

Committee Members agreed that they liked the principle behind the videos and the format employed. GMP Officers stated that they would like to see any videos ahead of publication. It was also agreed that there would need to be clarity in the video branding.

RESOLVED/-

1. That Committee Members agree to officers progressing with commissioning the production of public information videos on the work of the Ethics Committee.

It was agreed that any public suggestions for the work programme would need to be agreed by the Ethics Committee Membership before they were added to the Work Programme.

It was agreed that an update looking at the progress on 14 recommendations around Body Work Videos could be brought to the next meeting.

It was advised that Dr Layla Skinns of the University of Sheffield had been undertaking research on Clocks in Custody and would be happy to attend a forthcoming meeting of the Committee to discuss this.

It was advised that new requirements meant that GMP had to formulate their own internal Ethics Committee. Work was on going to see how this could link into the extant Ethics Committee to ensure that the two complemented each other and did not duplicate work.

RESOLVED/-

1. That the update on the on the Ethics Committee Work Plan be noted.

Thanks were expressed to Nasir Hafesi, Sean McHale and Shaid Mushtaq (and Paul Horrocks in absentia) for their valuable contributions to the Ethics Committee during their time as members.