Select Committee on Defence Written Evidence


Numbers of Courts Martial or other disciplinary or administrative procedures taken against instructors

ARMY

  1.  Court martial figures for the last five years covering the calendar years 1999-2003 are shown below and in more detail at Ev 309-10.


Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Total

Number
3
2
2
3
2
12


  2.  Summary Dealing figures for the period 2 October 2000-31 December 2000 and calendar years 2001-2003 (the period for which information is available) are shown below and in more detail at Ev 310.


Year
2000 (part)
2001
2002
2003
Total

Number
8
32
30
27
97


  3.  "Breach of duty of care" has been taken to cover the following offences committed by instructors or recruits in Phase 1 and 2 training:

    (a)  Ill-treatment by an instructor of a recruit either verbal or physical charged under Army Act 1955 (AA 55) S. 65.

    (b)  Physical violence by an instructor on a recruit, charged under AA 55 S. 70, Offences against the Person Act 1861.

    (c)  Indecent assault male on male or male on female, charged under AA 55 S. 70 Sexual Offences.

    (d)  Taking financial advantage of a recruit charged under AA 55 S. 69.

    (e)  Relationships between an instructor and female recruit charged under AA 55 S. 36(1) or S. 69.

  4.  The following comments/caveats/explanations are also offered:

    (a)  The Army views its responsibilities towards its recruits very seriously and has a zero tolerance of all forms of harassment. All allegations of misconduct involving those in positions of responsibility are followed up rigorously and where culpability is proved firm action is taken.

    (b)  Court martial dealings relate to the year of trial not the date on which the offence was committed.

    (c)  Instructors and recruits in Phase 1 and 2 training establishments. Note that some locations have Phase 3 training and act in a Depot function for overseas units. Soldiers on Phase 3 training have not been knowingly included unless their action involved recruits.

    (d)  The majority of cases of violence tried by court martial involve recruits who are off duty. These usually involve drunken violence without any element of bullying. These figures have therefore only been included where an element of bullying was explicitly identified.

    (e)  The summary dealing figures include a large number of charges under AA 55 S. 36(1) disobedience to standing orders. This charge covers male/female relationships between male instructors and female recruits. It is made quite plain to all instructors in Standing Orders and on their course at ITG Instructors School that while recruits are in training, instructors are not allowed to develop any personal relationships with them.

RAF

  Courts Martial. The RAF are not aware of any members of the training staff at RAF training units being court martialled for offences which could relate to a breach of duty of care in the period 1999-2003. However, an instructor at Initial Officer Training at RAF College Cranwell was court martialled in 1998 for allegedly forcing a student to complete a physical training exercise whilst carrying an injury. The instructor was found not guilty of mistreatment of recruits.

  Disciplinary and Administrative Procedures. For the purposes of this question the above is defined as cases dealing with Summary or Administrative action. This information is not held centrally. Available manual records have been searched to identify incidents involving training staff/trainees for incidents or charges relating to "negligent performance of a duty", inappropriate behaviour, inappropriate relationship, bullying/harassment and assault. It has not been possible to differentiate between Instructors and other members of training staff:

    —  The RAF has been unable to identify any cases in the period 1999-2003 where Administrative Action was taken against instructors and/or training staff for incidents relating to breach of "duty of care".   

    —  We have identified two cases of Summary Dealing involving instructors. The first was an incident in 2002 that involved a Cpl trainer found out of bounds in a female recruit barrack block. He was fined £1,000. The second was in 2003 and involved a Cpl trainer who was charged with assault of a recruit. He was also fined £1,000.

    —  There are four cases, currently under consideration for Administrative Action, of instructors having inappropriate relationships with recruits. The outcome of these are, as yet, unknown.

NAVY

  The information to answer this question has been taken from a discipline database, which records the rank/rate of the offender but not whether they were an instructor.

  Details of the victim are not held on the database so we cannot establish if they were a trainee or not.

  Figures for summary dealings are for all offences committed at each establishment. To identify each offence would involve looking through each individual file. This cannot be done within the timescale given.

  Full records for summary dealings were only maintained from 2001 onwards. Therefore no figures are available for years 2000 and 1999.

Summary Dealings


2003
2002
2001

HMS Raleigh
254
222
257
BRNC Dartmouth
0
1
*  0
CTCRM Lympstone
0
0
0

  Note: These figures relate to initial training

  CTCRM Lympstone—discipline issues are dealt with under the Army Act 1955.

  *    This was a Royal Marine Corporal charged with AWOL and therefore does not fit the criteria but has been included for the sake of completeness.

Courts martial


2003
2002
2001
2000
1999

HMS Raleigh
1
0
1
2
2
BRNC Dartmouth
0
0
0
0
0
CTCRM Lympstone
0
0
0
0
0

  CTCRM Lympstone—discipline issues are dealt with under the Army Act 1955.




Court Martial statistics: 1999-2003


Number of Courts-Martial
AA55 Section
Remarks

1999*
1
s. 70 sexual ATR Bassingbourn
1s.65 (b) ill-treatment ATR Bassingbourn
1s.65 (b) ill-treatment ITC Catterick
2000
2
s.70 indecent assault ATR Winchester
2001
1
s.43 (1) & s.70 battery SEME Regt
1s.70 batteryATR Bassingbourn
2002
1
s.70 violence RAC Trg Regt,

3x recruits assault
another
1s. 70 batteryAFC Harrogate
1s. 70 indecent assault ITC Catterick
2003
1
s. 65 (b) ill-treatment ITC Catterick
1s. 70 indecent assault ATR Pirbright
Phase 3 NCO assaulted recruits
Total: 12

  *    Year of trial, not date of offence.


Summary Dealing statistics: October 2000-03


Number of Summary Dealings
AA55 Section
Remarks

2000
1
s. 65 (b) ill-treatment ATFC Arborfield
1s. 36 (1) financial ATR Bassingbourn
1s. 36 (1) male/female ATR Bassingbourn
1s. 36 (1) male/female ATR Pirbright
3s. 36 (1) male/female ATR Winchester
1s. 70 battery by recruits ITC Catterick
2001
1
s. 36 (1) male/female 11 Sig Regt
1s. 69 25 Trg Sp Regt
RLC
2
s. 36 (1) male/female AFC Harrogate
5s. 70 batteryAFC Harrogate
4s. 43a (b) bullying by recruits AFC Harrogate
1s. 36 (1) male/female ATR Bassingbourn
1s. 70 common assault by recruit on recruit ATR Bassingbourn
1s. 36 (1) male/female ATR Lichfield
3s. 36 (1) male/female ATR Pirbright
3s. 36 (1) financial ATR Pirbright
4s. 36 (1) male/female ATR Winchester
2s. 36 (1) verbal abuse ATR Winchester
2s. 36 (1) Male/female SEME Regt
1s. 70 batterySEAE Sp Regt
1s. 43A (b) bullying by Cfn ATFC Arborfield
2002
1
s. 65 (b) ill-treatment ITC Catterick
1s. 36 (1) male/female 11 Sig Regt
1s. 36 (1) male/female 14 Regt RA
2s. 36 (1) male/female 25 Trg Sp Regt
RLC
3
s. 36 (1) male/female ATFC Arborfield
3s. 43A (b) bullying by recruit ATFC Arborfield
4s. 36 (1) male/female ATR Bassingbourn
1s. 65 (b) ill-treatment ATR Pirbright






 
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