Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what powers the Home Secretary has to remove the pensions of police officers who have been found guilty of serious misconduct.

Under the Police Pension Regulations Act 1987, where a police officer has been convicted of a criminal offence committed in connection with their service as a police officer, then a Police and Crime Commissioner (in London, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) may apply to the Home Secretary for a certificate that allows them to forfeit part of the police officer’s pension.

The offence must have been gravely injurious to the interests of the State or be liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service.

Once a certificate is issued, the final decision on whether to forfeit the pension is a matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner of the police force concerned.