Question
How many officers currently have a non molestation order against them?
Answer
Article 7.4 of the Code of Ethics requires officers to report any legal proceedings (including civil actions) initiated against them. Civil proceedings include debt issues and Non-Molestation Orders but not divorce proceedings. All officers are required to advise their line manager if they are the subject of such proceedings.
I can advise that the service of a Non Molestation order on a police officer is recorded on their nominal within our criminal justice management system known as Niche. However, the Police Service of Northern Ireland does not maintain a central database to record the number of Non Molestation Orders served on police officers. Therefore, with regret, it is not possible to provide an accurate answer to this question without conducting a manual trawl of all domestic abuse incidents to ascertain if the recipient of the Non Molestation Order is indeed a serving police officer. It should be noted that not all non-molestation orders represent prima facie evidence of criminal conduct by the recipient and as such they do not automatically result in a misconduct investigation being commenced.
Members can be reassured that all domestic abuse criminal investigations in which a serving officer is a suspect, are conducted by Public Protection Branch. Professional Standards conduct a parallel misconduct investigation.
All new officers are reminded of their obligations under the Code of Ethics at the end of their Student Officer course. The publication of a revised Code of Ethics (once agreed) will be accompanied by a communication plan across the organisation to embed it. This will also include a reminder to comply with the obligations currently listed under Article 7.4.
Mike Nesbitt - UUP