The Ministry of Defence Police (Conduct, Performance and Appeals Tribunals) Regulations 2020

Application

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (6), these Regulations apply where an allegation comes to the attention of a relevant authority which indicates that the conduct of an MDP officer may amount to misconduct, gross misconduct or practice requiring improvement.

(2) Subject to paragraph (6), and except as set out in paragraph (8), these Regulations also apply(1), with the modifications set out in Schedule 2, where—

(a) an allegation comes to the attention of a relevant body which indicates that the conduct of a person who at the time of the alleged conduct was an MDP officer (“P”) may amount to gross misconduct, and

(b) condition A, B or C is satisfied.

(3) Condition A is that P ceased to be an MDP officer after the allegation first came to the attention of a relevant body.

(4) Condition B is that—

(a) P ceased to be an MDP officer before the allegation first came to the attention of a relevant body, and

(b) the period between the date P ceased to be an MDP officer and the date the allegation first came to the attention of the relevant body does not exceed 12 months.

(5) Condition C is that—

(a) P ceased to be an MDP officer before the allegation first came to the attention of a relevant body,

(b) the period between the date P ceased be an MDP officer and the date the allegation first came to the attention of the relevant body exceeded 12 months, and

(c) the case to which the allegation relates has been investigated under external procedures established for England and Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland.

(6) Subject to paragraph (7), these Regulations do not apply in relation to—

(a) a pre-commencement allegation, or

(b) an allegation against an MDP officer which comes to the attention of a relevant body on or after the date on which these Regulations come into force and which relates to a matter in respect of which a pre-commencement allegation against that person was made, if at the time the allegation is made the pre-commencement allegation is being handled in accordance with—

(i) the provisions referred to in regulation 6(2) of the Ministry of Defence (Conduct, Performance and Appeals) Regulations 2020;

(ii) external procedures established for England and Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland.

(7) Where the Director General—

(a) determines, under external procedures established for England and Wales, that a complaint or matter is to be re-investigated, or

(b) has directed, in relation to conduct which took place, or circumstances which occurred, before 1 April 2004, that external procedures established for England and Wales apply,

these Regulations apply regardless of when the complaint or matter came to the attention of the relevant authority.

(8) Paragraph (2) does not apply if the disciplinary proceedings would not be the first disciplinary proceedings to be taken against P in respect of the alleged gross misconduct unless they result from a re-investigation of the allegation, whether carried out under these Regulations or under external procedures that begins not later than 12 months after the date on which P ceased to be an MDP officer.

(9) Where a relevant authority is considering more than one allegation in relation to the same MDP officer, or a person in relation to whom these Regulations apply by virtue of paragraph (2), the allegations may be taken together and treated as a single allegation for the purposes of any provision of these Regulations which requires a person to make an assessment, finding, determination or decision in connection with conduct which is the subject matter of an allegation.

(10) In this regulation, “relevant body” means—

(a) a relevant authority;

(b) the Director General;

(c) the Ombudsman;

(d) the Commissioner.

(1)

Section 3A(1B)-(1H) of the 1987 Act which were inserted by section 29(8) of, and Schedule 7, paragraphs 1, 2(1) and (2) to the Policing and Crime Act 2017, provides that regulations made under section 3A may, in respect of former MDP officers, only be applied to such persons where there is an indication that the person’s conduct at the time they were an MDP officer amounts to gross misconduct, and had the person still been employed as an MDP Officer, they would have been at risk of dismissal.