The Police Act 1976: Who is the “Lay Element” and What Will He Do?
| DOI | 10.1177/002201837704100112 |
| Date | 01 January 1977 |
| Published date | 01 January 1977 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The
Police Act 1976:
WHO
IS
THE
"LAY
ELEMENT"
AND
WHAT
WILL
HE DO?
The
long
and
loud
demand
for a
lay
element
in police
disciplinary
proceedings
has
at
last
been
met.
The
Police
Act
1976
has
arrived,
despite
a
turbulent
period
of
gestation
which
disappointed
radicals
yet
caused
senior
police officers to
threaten
resignation.
The
Act
provides
for
the
establishment
of
aPolice
Complaints
Board
of
at
least
9
members,
which
Board
will
provide
the
much
heralded
"lay
element."
Who
is
"the
lay
element",
what
kind
of
beast
can
he be?
One
thing
is
certain,
he will
not
be a
member
of
the
House
of
Commons
(Para.
6
Schedule:
s. 1 (5) )
but
he
may
be a
member
of
the
House
of
Lords.
He
may
be a
person
who
will
continue
to be successful in
the
world
of
commerce
or
industry,
for
the
Act
provides
for
part-time
appointments.
He
may
even be
an
ex-policeman
providing
he
did
his
policing
in a
warm
climate.
The
Board
will
function
only
in
relation
to
complaints
against
members
of
police forces in
England
and
Wales
and
only
in
relation
to
acts
committed
by
such
police officers
within
England
and
Wales
but,
it
appears,
ex-members
of
the
constabularies
of
Scotland
and
Northern
Ireland
are
not
to be
trusted
to
have
changed
their
spots,
for
they
are
ineligible
together
with
their
English
and
Welsh
counterparts.
More
trustworthy,
it
would
seem
are
ex-members
of
the
Palestinian
Police
Force,
the
Rhodesian
Police
Force,
the
Hong
Kong
Police
Force
and
the
like, tor
the
prohibition
contained
in
section
1does
not
extend
to
them.
Members
of
the
Board
will
not
be
convicted
criminals
or
bankrupts,
for
provision
is
made
for
removal
from office
on
these
grounds
and
others
(incapacitation
by
physical
or
mental
illness
etc.). No
dou
bt all
appointees
to
the
Board
will be solid,
respectable
members
of
society
with
impeccable
"lay"
qualifications.
Whatever
else he
may
be,
however,
the
"lay
element"
is
certainly
going
to be a
beast
of
burden.
In 1974
there
were
17,500
complaints
made
by
members
of
the
public
against
police officers
and
it was
accepted,
before
the
Act
was
passed,
that
this figure
would
probably
rise to 25,000
once
the
Act
came
into
operation.
With
nine
full-time
appointments
to
the
Board,
and
there
is no
guarantee
that
all
appointments
will be full-time, it
was
accepted,
at
the
Committee
Stage,
that
each
member
of
the
Board
would
be
required
to
dispose
of
8%
cases
per
day.
Admittedly
some
of
these cases will
require
very little
attention,
but,
as
was
pointed
out
in
Committee,
some
complaints
involve
perusal
of
literally
thousands
of
sheets
of
paper.
One
such
case
will
obviously
require
a
long
period
of
consideration
and,
at
the
end
of
75
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