Compensation payments 723/2022

FOI Reference: 732/2022

Request:

Please could you provide the following information broken down by calendar years 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 (or the latest available data):

1a) the number of cases where your police force has paid an out of court settlement or paid compensation to individuals

b) the nature of the cases where compensation or settlement has been paid. For example, this could mean 'wrongful arrest', 'loss of property', 'excessive force or assault' etc.

c) the sum the force has paid in damages or to settle these complaints  

If possible, please could you provide a breakdown for each year by the age of the complainant.

2a) the total number of allegations of misconduct or gross misconduct made against officers in your force

b) the number of officers who have retired from your force while there is an active allegation of misconduct or gross misconduct against them

c) the number of officers in your force who have resigned before misconduct, gross misconduct or other disciplinary proceedings have completed.

Clarification:

I am looking for all claims (and I am aware that a single claim could include several allegations) that can be made through these guidance that – were they to be proven – would amount to either misconduct or gross misconduct.

I am aware that with regard to complaints being made, these can be subject to special procedures and a severity assessment conducted. I am interested in those whose severity is judged as either misconduct or gross misconduct.

I am also aware that the definition of misconduct has changed in recent years, from being defined as ‘ a breach of the standards of professional behaviour’ in 2019 to ‘a breach of the standards of professional behaviour, so serious as to justify disciplinary proceedings’ from February 2020.

Response 1 A - C:

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.

Year	A – Number of cases settlements paid	B – Nature of claim	C – Sum of settlements made
2019	4	3 x personal injury; 1 x damage to property	£30,111.84
2020	5	4 x personal injury; 1 x data protection breach	£29,951
2021	5	2 x financial losses; 1 x failing in duty; 1 x various pleadings; 1 x unlawful arrest	£52,903
2022	1	1 x financial losses	£1310

Response 2:

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.

Year	Complaint Allegations subject to Special Procedures	Conduct Allegations
2019	2	61
2020	4	80
2021	0	67
2022	0	79

Response 2 B

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.

Year	Officers who have retired while there is an active allegation of misconduct or gross misconduct against them
2019	0
2020	0
2021	1
2022	0

Response 2 C

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.

Year	Officers who have resigned before misconduct, gross misconduct or other disciplinary proceedings have completed
2019	2
2020	3
2021	1
2022	0

                                                                                                           

It should be noted that as a result of the systems adopted by Dyfed-Powys Police in relation to the recording of such information that the information released may or may not be accurate.

Furthermore, it should also be noted that Police forces in the United Kingdom are routinely required to provide crime statistics to government bodies and the recording criteria is set nationally. However, the systems used for recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the crime data. It should be noted that for these reasons this force's response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other response you may receive.

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 02/12/2022)