Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the service complaints investigation teams there are in each branch of the armed forces; what their qualifications are; what training is provided to them; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

The Ministry Of Defence maintains a cadre of Harassment Investigation Officers who investigate complaints raised within the Services and by MOD civilians concerning bullying and harassment, and who are not permanent employees of the Department; Appendix six to the 2013 Annual Report of the Service Complaints Commissioner provides further details. Beyond this centrally-managed team, the three Services maintain teams of investigators, many of whom are drawn from their own Service police force, who can investigate complex complaints.

The Royal Navy has one Complaint Investigation and Mediation Team (CIMT), comprising two members of the Royal Navy Police with many years of investigative experience. In addition to their extensive police investigative training, they are Equality and Diversity Advisers, and have undertaken the MOD Harassment Investigation Course and professional Mediation Training (through an external training provider).

The Army currently has six permanent members and three temporary assigned (12 months) soldiers in its Service Complaints Investigation Team (SCIT), which replaced the Equal Opportunities Investigation Team. All members of the SCIT are serving Senior Non-Commissioned Officers from the Royal Military Police, and hold the following qualifications:

Initial Military Police Investigation Course

Volume Crime Investigation Course

Management Investigation Course

Police and Criminal Evidence Act Interviewing Course

Disclosure Officers Course

Equality & Diversity Advisor Course

On arrival in the SCIT, investigators receive work place training and are allocated a supervising investigator for a period of three months or as necessary.

The RAF has a Service Complaints Team, and an Equal Opportunities Investigation Team (EOIT), which investigates complex equality and diversity complaints. The latter team comprises a Warrant Officer and a Flight Sergeant, both members of the RAF Police, and an administrator. The investigators complete the following courses as part of their role training:

Equality and Diversity Advisor

Harassment Investigation Officer

Fundamentals of Employment Law (through CIPD)

Preparing for Employment Tribunal (through CIPD)

Certificate in Bullying and Harassment Investigation – City and Guilds

Level 4