Code of ethics

As part of its role as the professional body for policing in England and Wales, the College of Policing has issued new Code of Ethics for police officers and police staff.

All our officers and staff are aware that the highest ethical standards are expected of them and that anyone who falls short will be dealt with robustly.

If things go wrong we will acknowledge our mistakes, share the learning and aim to find a positive way forward. We are more concerned with identifying the best way forward than attributing blame.

We aim to police with integrity and always in the public's best interest.

The Code of Ethics will work alongside a separate statutory Code of Practice for Ethical Policing, which was launched in December and sets out the actions that chief officers should take to support people in their force to use the ethical policing principles and to demonstrate professional behaviour.

Ethics Panel

This is a joint panel between the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Humberside Police.

The role of the panel is to provide an ethical overview of our policies and decisions.

There are six independent voluntary members and an independent Chair on the panel.

Senior leaders from Humberside Police and the PCC attend the monthly meetings which are held at the PCC.

Agenda items can be added by any member of the panel and volunteers are encouraged to bring subject they are interested in to the group.

Some recent examples of issues considered by the group include:

• Our complaints process and how many of those complaints we received are resolved and how quickly
• How we manage grievances within the organisation
• Ethical dilemmas in conduct cases

At the next meeting the panel will hear from the Head of Vetting for the force and will consider whether there is any potential for discrimination in our vetting process.

If you have any questions or enquiries about the panel then please contact the PCC.