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Miscarriages of Justice: Police

Asked by Vikki SladeLiberal DemocratHome OfficeTabled Answered 5 August 2025UIN 69131

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on the effectiveness of their complaints system for police officers who believe that a miscarriage of justice has taken place against them.

Answered by Dame Diana Johnson

There are separate routes of appeal depending on whether a police officer is appealing against the conviction of a criminal offence or the finding or outcome at disciplinary proceedings.

Where an officer believes they have been wrongly convicted of a criminal offence, they can appeal a criminal conviction in the normal way through the standard appeals process. Separately, police officers who wish to challenge a disciplinary finding or outcome may do so to the Police Appeals Tribunal (PAT). Following the decision of the PAT, officers have a further appeal route through the judicial review process.

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