A fair cop? Police Commissioners and the oath of impartiality

Last week we blogged on how the process to elect new local Police Commissioners in November might lead to a lack of independent candidates and possible political bias. In the last couple of days, there has been an interesting development as the Home Office confirmed that all Commissioners will have to swear an ‘Oath of impartiality’ once they start their role. 

The thinking behind this is obvious. It makes a public contract between these Commissioners and the people who elect them and acts as a symbol of the commitment to serve their communities properly and responsibly. But will it actually work? A few commentators have suggested an oath will make a good headline, but will actually do little to affect behaviour. Besides, surely they should be behaving in this way anyway?

Interestingly, however, there is academic research which suggests this type of ‘public commitment-making’ actually works. Psychologist Dan Ariely set some students in the US a number of tests. On some tests the correct answers were already pre-marked and, predictably, those scores came back higher. But when asked to sign an ‘honour code’ on the test paper, even with correct answers marked, the cheating stopped. What this tells us is that when faced with issues of honesty and integrity (in this case a fictitious ‘honour code’), we are more encouraged to behave in this manner.

But, as with lots of tools developed to affect behaviour change, research shows only a short-term impact. To really influence long-term behaviour, there is an argument that pledges need to be made on a regular basis. Otherwise, human nature dictates that other factors and biases will increasingly come into play.

So going back to the Police Commissioners, perhaps this public pledge initially will have a positive impact on behaviour. But arguably, it should go even further. These high-profile roles will involve regularly making big decisions which will have significant consequences. Likewise, Commissioners are expected to serve a four year term. To ensure impartiality remains front of mind, perhaps the oath should be considered as a yearly – even six-monthly – event, rather than a one-off pledge at the outset, or some other means found to remind Commissioners of their responsibilities. 

Tom Yazdi

Consultant

tom@linstockcommunications.com