Julia Mulligan calls for organisation of police disciplinary hearings to support transparency
North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan has called for police disciplinary hearings in the area – now held publicly – to be organised in a way that encourages transparency.
Journalists wanting to report from the second disciplinary hearing to be held publicly in the force area were turned away because they had not applied for a place early enough – even though places were still available.
“It is important to remember that this is only the second publicly held disciplinary hearing in North Yorkshire, but I do feel more could be done to put transparency at the heart of this process,” said Julia.
“The spirit of the legislation is clear, in that these hearings should be held in the public domain, and it seems on this occasion that internal policies have trumped transparency, which simply isn’t right. It does have to be said however that the press could have been in attendance should they have applied correctly, which members of the public have proved is possible as they are now in attendance at the hearing.
“I will raise this issue with the Chief Constable and work with the police to make sure these hearings are as accessible as possible for both the public and members of the press.”