Police are unable to blow the whistle on their colleagues, former officers have warned, amid calls for a change in the law which allows forces to “cover up corruption”.
Officers warn that even allegations which would amount to serious criminal conduct are only examined internally and senior officers often close ranks to avoid a scandal and “protect their own”.
The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) cannot examine complaints made about someone serving under the same chief constable because of a law described by officers as a “loophole” which allows forces to “police themselves”.
A former policing minister, MPs and campaigners have now backed calls for the law to be changed so complaints can be dealt with independently to ensure high levels of public trust in the police.
It comes as the Metropolitan Police faces an investigation into its culture and standards – following the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens – and Greater Manchester Police, England’s second largest force, is in special measures.
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Officers from both forces have complained that the restrictions of the Police Reform Act 2002 have prevented them from exposing serious wrongdoing which was covered up by their superiors, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
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