A new political group established to support the Home Affairs review of police complaints has met for the first time.

The group is Chaired by Deputy Marc Leadbeater, the President of Home Affairs, with six other deputies – Tina Bury, Haley Camp, Rob Curgenven, Jayne Ozanne and Gavin St Pier – making up the membership. 

During the group’s first meeting they agreed a set of terms to be followed throughout the review, aiming to align with the existing meeting confidentiality rules followed by the Committee for Home Affairs. 

The States says the group held a “constructive first meeting”, and members will now meet regularly throughout the review period; overseeing and scrutinising the review process while the review is carried out. 

They added the group will present its recommendations to the Committee for Home Affairs, which remains ultimately responsible for preparing a policy letter for submission to the States of Deliberation. 

“There was unanimous agreement on the importance of building and maintaining public confidence in the process, and members explored a range of ideas to supplement and strengthen their work,” said a spokesperson.

The review is aiming to make sure the Police Complaints Process is service user focused, simple, fair, clear and accountable, and proportionate. 

Deputy Leadbeater, President of Home Affairs and Chair of the political review group, said: “It has long been well-known in Guernsey that the police complaints regime needs reviewing and updating, and this will be a priority for the Committee for Home Affairs this term.

“However, I wanted to ensure that the review involved a broad church of views and opinions from the States Assembly, to ensure we do this work as effectively as possible.

“This political review group will therefore provide us in the Committee with support and scrutiny to get the best results for everyone with an interest in this topic, from police officers to complainants.

“As a group our first meeting this week was constructive, and I look forward to working with all other members on this important matter.”