From the: Metropolitan Police Federation

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Published on Facebook 23rd October 2025

"Police officers who use force in the course of their duty should only face future misconduct charges if their actions meet the threshold for criminal proceedings, the Government has announced.

A report published today (23 October) says the legal test for use of force in misconduct cases should be raised to the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

Currently, officers will face misconduct proceedings if their actions meet the civil law test of ‘on the balance of probabilities’.

The recommendations were made in the Police Accountability Rapid Review, by Timothy Godwin and Sir Adrian Fulford.

They were asked to look at the legal test for use of force in misconduct cases, and the Home Secretary has accepted the report’s recommendation to change the threshold. The Government is set to amend Police Regulations to reflect this.

The changes will mean that an officer will no longer face misconduct proceedings if their actions are not deemed to meet the threshold for criminal charges. However, any use of force will still need to be considered necessary, reasonable and proportionate.

The review also looked at the threshold for determining a short-form conclusion of unlawful killing in inquests, and recommended further consultation on this issue."