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GLOSSARY

Misconduct in public office definition

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

What does Misconduct in public office mean?

A public officer commits the common law offence of misconduct in a public office if, acting as such, he wilfully neglects to perform his duty and/or wilfully misconducts himself, to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder, without reasonable excuse or justification.

The office does not have to be a remunerated one, though this may have a bearing, for example in a case of omission, in determining whether or not there has been wilful misconduct. There must be a serious departure from proper standards before the criminal offence is committed, and the wilful conduct must be deliberate and be accompanied by an awareness of the duty to act or subjective awareness as to the existence of the duty.

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Members—conduct

This Practice Note refers only to the law in England; note that different provisions apply to Wales.The public has a right to expect high standards of conduct from their elected members. Up to 1 July 2012, local authority (LA) members had to comply with the ethical standards framework under Part III of the Local Government Act 2000 (LGA 2000) that built on recommendations in the Third Report of Lord Nolan's Committee on Standards in Public Life.The Localism Act 2011 (LA 2011) amends LGA 2000, so that Part III only applies to Wales, and makes fundamental changes to the system of regulation of standards of conduct for elected and co-opted councillors in England from 1 July 2012. The provisions of LA 2011 apply to 'relevant authorities', which include a county council in England, a district council, a London borough council, a parish council and the Greater London authority.Though the Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2007, SI 2007/1159 was repealed on 1 July 2012, and members no longer have to...

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Spotlight on Corruption calls for new public office corruption offence to replace MIPO

Spotlight on Corruption has published analysis showing that the misconduct in public office (MIPO) offence is predominantly used against junior police and prison staff, with only 2% of convictions involving senior officials. The organisation convened a roundtable to discuss implementing the Law Commission's 2021 recommendation to replace MIPO with a new 'corruption in public office' offence. The analysis reveals that 92% of MIPO convictions since 2014 involved junior staff, while financial crimes represented only 4% of cases. The roundtable identified drafting issues in the Commission's proposed offence that could hinder prosecution.

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