The Authorised Professional Practice (APP) has been approved by the College of Policing as the official and most up-to-date source of professional practice on policing. South Yorkshire Police have adopted APP as their Statement of Agreed Policy. This is the agreed policy on Policing Elections and you may wish to refer to the APP section now
Exceptions
South Yorkshire Police do not deviate from APP in this subject.
Additions
In addition to APP, South Yorkshire Police’s statement of agreed policy on Policing Elections includes;
Purpose
Electoral malpractice is rare but can attract considerable media attention and undermine public confidence in the electoral process. Public confidence can also be affected by the perception that an initial response to allegations or complaints of electoral malpractice is ineffective.
This policy sits alongside the APP guidance on policing elections, and aims to support police officers and staff who are involved in planning the police response to elections and the prevention and detection of electoral malpractice.
Force Election Single Point of Contact (SPOC)
In South Yorkshire Police, SYP, the SPOC duties will be carried out by the Force Financial Crime Investigation Unit and any electoral offences should be referred to the Force SPOC in the first instance. The only SPOC duties to be carried out by other departments are as follows:
- The Operational Planning Unit is responsible for liaising with local authority returning officers, to ensure that they have access to police advice/support when needed
- The Force Intelligence Bureau will carry out the analysis and dissemination of intelligence and information, which is relevant to the planning process for an election. This begins the National Decision Model (NDM) process, which leads to threat assessment, strategy and ultimately the tactical options which guide how the respective election will be policed
Candidates and Campaigners
In addition to the APP guidance on officer attendance during elections, a senior officer from each district will also attend the election count.
Communities
APP states that the Silver commander should write a community engagement strategy. As part of this strategy, it should be considered whether a community impact assessment is required. In SYP, the Gold Commander may request that a community impact assessment (CIA) is undertaken for each district in relation to the election.
Associated Procedural Instructions
There are currently no procedures that support this policy.
Equality Act 2010
The Act creates a statutory requirement for all Functions and Policies (Including Procedural Instructions) to be analysed for their effect on equality, diversity and human rights, with due regard to the General Equality Duty.
In principle, this document has been assessed for discrimination, which cannot be justified, among other diverse groups.
The Code of Ethics published in 2014 and revised in 2024 by the College of Policing requires us all to do the right thing in the right way.
The 2024 Code of Ethics is not a statutory Code of Practice, it has the same status as other guidance produced by the College. The Code of Ethics is supported by the Code of Practice for Ethical Policing. This is a statutory Code of Practice which provides chief officers with direction on promoting and supporting ethical and professional behaviour within their forces.
Human Rights/Discretion
The purpose of providing policy is to give an indication to staff of the expected course of action. However it is not possible to cater for every possible combination of factors that would justify a departure from stated policy. The Human Rights Act 1998 requires the proper use of discretion at all times and nothing within this policy and associated procedural instructions prohibits the proper use of discretion in appropriate circumstances.
Where action is taken that has the potential to interfere with an individual's Human Rights, the reasons behind the making of the decision to act in that way should be recorded on the appropriate forms, or where this is not practicable, in pocket books or policy logs.
Rights of redress for members of the public:
Anyone who feels that a member of staff has behaved incorrectly or unfairly, or who is dissatisfied with organisational matters, service delivery or other operational policing issues, has the right to make a complaint.
Initial action should be taken in one of the following ways:
- Complain in writing or in person to the Senior Officer at the appropriate police station or to the Chief Constable of the force concerned.
- Visit a local Citizens' Advice Bureau
- Contact a Solicitor
Rights of redress for South Yorkshire Police personnel:
South Yorkshire Police personnel who feel they have grounds for concern in relation to the implementation of policies may, as appropriate:
- Pursue concerns through their line manager.
- Contact a First Contact Advisor.
- Pursue a grievance formally through the South Yorkshire Police Grievance Resolution Procedure.
- Seek advice from their staff association or trades union.
Use procedural instruction Pi23.11 - Management of Complaints, in the section entitled Handling Complaints relating to Direction and Control.
This statement of agreed policy is managed by Superintendent, Operational Support Unit.
