My name is Kevin Moore and I instigated this petition. I wish to thank all of you for your support to date. In two days, we have already achieved almost 1200 signatures. That is simply brilliant.

I lead a group called Retired Officers Who Care (ROWC) which was formed in April 2018. We are retired officers from Sussex Police who still care sufficiently about policing that we want to do all that we can to ensure that the best traditions of the police service in general are preserved. We firmly believe that in order to achieve this, the holding of a Royal Commission is a must.

I thought that it would be helpful for people to know what a Royal Commission is about. The strict definition is:

A royal commission is similar in function to a commission of enquiry (or inquiry). It has considerable powers, generally greater even than those of a judge but restricted to the terms of reference of the commission. The commission is created by the head of state (the sovereign, or his/her representative in the form of a governor-general or governor) on the advice of the government and formally appointed by letters patent. In practice—unlike lesser forms of inquiry—once a commission has started the government cannot stop it. Consequently, governments are usually very careful about framing the terms of reference and generally include in them a date by which the commission must finish.
Royal commissions are called to look into matters of great importance and usually controversy. These can be matters such as government structure, the treatment of minorities, events of considerable public concern or economic questions. Many royal commissions last many years and, often, a different government is left to respond to the findings.

This definition demonstrates just how much impact a Royal Commission can have.

To date, this petition has been shared with the Police Federation, which represents around 120,000 police officers from constable to chief inspector; the Superintendents Association (representing Superintendents and Chief Superintendents) and NARPO (National Association of Retired Police Officers) around 90,000 members. 

This petition is so important. Policing is currently in crisis and its provision needs to be thoroughly reviewed and updated to reflect the current era.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THIS CAUSE BY SHARING THE PETITION WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY AND WORK COLLEAGUES!