AN appeal has been made to ensure greater transparency over public disciplinary hearings involving police officers.

It comes after The Northern Echo and another news organisation were today (Monday, September 19) denied access to a gross misconduct hearing involving a North Yorkshire Police inspector due to 'small print' tribunal regulations.

The Professional Standards Department said both organisations failed to provide two working days notice as part of their application to attend.

However, The Northern Echo was unaware of the hearing until the details were spotted on the North Yorkshire Police website on Thursday night. It submitted its application next day.

The hearing involves long serving Inspector Sarah Sanderson, from the Hambleton area. The allegations involve the direction of police officers to have inappropriate contact with a member of the public she knew, the drafting of a statement on behalf of a family member, access to information on the police computer system and submission of reports to police.

It is only the second hearing to have been held in public in North Yorkshire after a national rule change last year.

Andy Richardson, editor of The Northern Echo, said: “We can only be concerned that the system for disciplinary hearings has proved to be so complicated and difficult.

“The facts and information which is being put before the disciplinary panel, should be aired widely and publicly. The operation of the system as it stands threatens to takes us back to when disciplinary hearings were held behind closed doors, and we believe is not in the spirit of transparency and openness intended when the new guidelines were introduced.”

Guidelines issued by North Yorkshire police say: "Misconduct hearings are announced in the Misconduct section of the North Yorkshire Police website ten days before the hearing. Attendance is open to the public which includes the media, but there is no preferential arrangements for the media.

"It is now a requirement to hold police misconduct hearings in public for officers who have been served a gross misconduct notice."

Julia Mulligan, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, said: “It is important to remember that this is only the second publicly held disciplinary hearing in North Yorkshire, but I do feel more could be done to put transparency at the heart of this process.

“The spirit of the legislation is clear, and it seems on this occasion that internal policies have trumped transparency, which simply isn’t right. It does have to be said however that the press could have been in attendance should they have applied correctly, which members of the public have proved is possible as they are now in attendance at the hearing."