Police discipline hearings to be made public -paper

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) Disciplinary hearings for police officers accused of serious neglect or incompetence will be heard in public for the first time, the Times newspaper reported today.

The police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), is to use new powers to ensure cases involving officers accused of failings that led to death or serious injury could be open to victims, relatives and media.

Unlike for doctors or members of the armed forces, where serious disciplinary cases are open to the public, all hearings for police officers are currently conducted in private.

The decision follows a number of cases where police action has been criticised and issues of public interest were not raised in criminal trials or inquests, the Times said.

It also comes after years of consultation with details of the reforms only finalised at the end of last year.

But Nick Hardwick, chairman of the IPCC, said public hearings would not be used on a regular basis.

''It's an exceptional power,'' he told the Times. ''We are not saying as a matter of course the police are going to find themselves in public.'' He said a test case had been identified but did not give details.

Hardwick cited the case of Christopher Alder as being the type of case that could be opened to the public, the paper said.

Alder, a black ex-soldier, choked to death on the floor of a police custody suite in Hull in April 1998 while officers ignored him.

Five police officers were acquitted of manslaughter and then cleared of any wrongdoing by an internal disciplinary hearing.

However an IPCC investigation heavily criticised these hearings and ruled the officers were guilty of serious failings and ''unwitting racism''.

Police forces have always opposed public hearings fearing that officers could be targeted even if they were cleared of any wrongdoing. However police chiefs have been accused of allowing officers escape punishment by allowing them to retire early.

Under the reforms, a public hearing would take place after all criminal charges had been ruled out and could result in an officer being fined, reduced in rank or sacked.

The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents junior officers and police constables, said it was against the IPCC plans.

''Provided the hearing is held in an appropriate manner, allowing the admittance of the public will add nothing to the proceedings,'' Alan Gordon, the Federation's vice-chairman, told the Times.

REUTERS SP DS1343