The law governing misconduct in public office is "unclear" and "ambiguous" and should be overhauled, according to the government's independent law advisers.
Misconduct in public office carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and, under the current definition, the offence is committed when a public officer – which can include civil servants, councillors, police and other public officials – "wilfully neglects to perform his duty" or "wilfully misconducts himself" to such an extent that it amounts to an "abuse of the public's trust".
However, the Law Commission – which independently reviews and recommends reforms to law in England and Wales – is looking into whether the law should be abolished, restated or amended.
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It says that while more people are being accused of misconduct in public office, fewer of those accusations are resulting in convictions, something it says could be a result of an "ill-defined" and unclear law.
The Commission points out that there is no clear definition of "public office" and says "abuse of the public's trust" is "so vague that it is difficult for investigators, prosecutors and juries to apply".
Launching the organisation's new consultation on reform, Professor David Ormerod QC, Law Commissioner for criminal law, said: “It is vital that the public have confidence in their public officials and in the legal framework that sets the boundaries of their conduct.
"The offence of misconduct in public office is increasingly being used to bring public officials to account but recent high-profile investigations and prosecutions have brought the problems with this offence into sharp focus.
“The existing law relating to misconduct in public office is unclear in a number of fundamental respects. There is urgent need for reform to bring clarity and certainty and ensure that public officials are appropriately held to account for misconduct committed in connection with their official duties.”
Proposals floated by the Commission in its consultation – which runs until the end of November – include creating a new offence based on "abuse of power, authority or position", or scrapping the offence altogether and instead using sentencing to reflect the fact that somebody guilty of committing a crime holds a public position.