Section 3 - UKPSA Internal Disciplinary Procedures

Introduction

1. The sport of Practical Shooting, along with any other pursuits which involve the lawful use of firearms, requires everyone involved to hold themselves to the highest standards of conduct at all times. Within any sport or organisation however, there will inevitably be occasions when grievances arise or an individual’s behaviour falls short of the standards set by the Association. In these instances, the policy described below will be followed. Continued membership of the Association is dependent upon acceptance of this policy and the understanding that individual members will be held accountable for their actions if their behaviour falls short of that expected by the Association.

Code of Conduct

2. Everyone is expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and behaviour whilst they are involved in activities directly linked to the activities of the Association. Association members should conduct themselves in an honest, fair, impartial and transparent manner; treating everyone with the same respect they would wish others to show towards themselves. Whilst not exhaustive, shown below are examples of behaviours which are deemed unacceptable by the Association and an indication of how they may be classified by the Association. 
   1. Examples of Behaviour Which May Be Classified as Misconduct:
      • Rudeness to other UKPSA or IPSC members, competitors, spectators, or officials.
        
      • Cheating when competing, or officiating, at an UKPSA or IPSC match or event.
        
      • Careless loss of, or minor damage to, UKPSA property.
        
      • Inappropriate behaviour, especially where such behaviour is likely to reflect poorly upon the Association.
        
      • Discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, sex, age or disability.
        
      • Minor breach of the UKPSA Constitution, byelaws, rules and regulations.
   2. Examples of Behaviour Which May Be Classified as Gross Misconduct:
      • Theft or unauthorised possession of UKPSA property.
        
      • Serious, deliberate or reckless damage to UKPSA property whether physical or electronic (for example e-mails or documents).
        
      • Deliberate and wilful falsification of reports, accounts, or expense claims.
        
      • Intoxication on the range by reason of alcohol or drugs when actually competing, or officiating, at an UKPSA or IPSC match or event.
        
      • Serious breach of the UKPSA Constitution, byelaws, rules and regulations
        
      • Fighting or other violent, dangerous or intimidating conduct at an UKPSA or IPSC match or event, this includes on and off range.
        
      • Bullying, sexual, racial or other harassment of other UKPSA or IPSC members, competitors, spectators, or officials.
        
      • Gross negligence or incompetence (excluding disqualification as a competitor) at an UKPSA or IPSC match or event.
      • Bringing the sport, the UKPSA or IPSC, into disrepute.
        
      • Sending or publishing abusive, scandalous, obscene or defamatory communications of any kind (including without limitation text messages, email or Internet forum postings) to, or concerning, the UKPSA or IPSC, UKPSA or IPSC Officers, members, competitors, spectators, or officials.

Note: Whilst a complaint may cite behaviour or conduct which is categorised as either Misconduct or Gross Misconduct in the list above, there will always be aggravating or mitigating factors which will be considered before making any determination as to how the complaint will be classified. A competitor who has a dispute about the application of IPSC rules at a sanctioned match should resolve this at the event through the Range Master and/or arbitration committee using the procedure laid out in the IPSC rules. Such disputes would not normally be treated as complaints.

Authority to Deal with Complaints

3.  The Association authorises the UKPSA Council and those members of the Association appointed to the Disciplinary Committee to deal with complaints. Additionally:
   • The Training Committee are specifically authorised to deal with complaints received that relate specifically to the conduct of UKPSA Training Personnel
     
   • The National Range Officer Institute is specifically authorised to deal with complaints that relate to the actual conduct of match officials when working at UKPSA or IPSC competitions.
4. The UKPSA Council may appoint between 3 and 5 members of Council, together with 1 UKPSA member who is not a member of Council, to form a Disciplinary Committee. The appointments shall normally be made at the first Council meeting following an AGM. In the absence of a separate Disciplinary Committee being formed, the UKPSA Council shall be the Disciplinary Committee.

Confidentiality

5. During the processing of any complaint or appeal all information pertinent to that complaint or appeal shall be treated as confidential. For the avoidance of doubt, information pertinent to a complaint or appeal may be passed to any member of Council or the Disciplinary Committee, with those individuals ensuring that information is not disclosed beyond the management structure of the Association. 
6. Due to the confidentiality requirements of GDPR, no information about disciplinary actions may be disclosed to members not involved in the complaint itself or the hearing of that complaint insofar as possible. 
7. When a complaint is made by one member against another member, insofar as possible, the identity of the complainant will not be notified to the member or members who are the subject of the complaint.
8. Upon advice from the Information Commissioners Office, discussion of complaints amongst Council and Disciplinary Committee members shall not be disclosed under the terms of a GDPR Subject Access Request.

Make a Complaint

9. If an Association member feels it necessary to make a complaint, they should do so in writing to the Association Secretary and note the following:
   1. Time limits. All complaints must be submitted within 2 months of the incident. Only in
      extraordinary circumstances will a complaint be considered outside this time limit.
   2. Raising a Complaint. All complaints shall be submitted to the Secretary in writing. It is expected that the complaint will be received from the injured party, where applicable. In circumstances where a complaint is received from a third party, but none is received from the injured party, the complaint may be set aside until such time as a complaint from the injured party is received. When raising a complaint, Association members should include the following information as a minimum:
      • The date and time of the alleged incident?
        
      • Where the incident took place?
        
      • Who was involved?
        
      • Who witnessed the incident?
        
      • What happened in chronological order?
   3. All complaints received will be passed to the Disciplinary Committee who will conduct an initial review and then determine and direct subsequent action. 
   4. As part of their initial review, the Disciplinary Committee will consider the complaint and any aggravating or mitigating factors and determine if:
      • The complaint has merit and there are grounds to proceed.
      • If the alleged incident should be initially treated as Misconduct or Gross Misconduct.
      • In the case of Misconduct, whether formal or informal procedures are appropriate.

Note: Whenever possible, minor conduct issues will be resolved on an informal basis. In the event that a resolution cannot be attained in this manner; then formal procedures will be initiated. 

1. 5. The decisions described in this section (“Raising a Complaint”) are final and not subject to appeal.

Resolving a Complaint

10. Informal Procedures. The Disciplinary Committee, having conducted their initial review of the complaint, may employ whatever informal procedures they deem appropriate to the situation in order to resolve the complaint.
11. Formal Procedures. These formal procedures have been adopted to enable all complaints, regardless of their classification, to be dealt with fairly, consistently and with a minimum of delay. All complaints determined by the initial review to have merit and to require formal procedures will be subject to a full investigation and if appropriate, a full disciplinary hearing at the discretion of the Disciplinary Committee. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Disciplinary Committee will carry out an initial review and determine if it is appropriate to suspend the membership of anyone cited in the complaint while their investigation is conducted. The definition of suspension is as set out in the “Written Warning and Additional Sanctions” section which is in turn part of the “Sanctions” section, below. Any decision to suspend the membership of anyone cited in a complaint will be notified immediately in writing. The letter of notification will make clear to the individual concerned the precise terms of such suspension.
    1. Investigation. Following their initial review, and if appropriate, the Disciplinary Committee will conduct a full investigation of the complaint. This investigation should attempt to determine the facts as well as to identify any witnesses or other persons relevant to the case and to gather and confirm any evidence. The investigation should ideally take place as soon as possible and, where the complaint is related to a specific UKPSA or IPSC match or event, the investigation should ideally take place while all relevant persons are available. A member who is the subject of an investigation will usually be requested for his/her version of the events leading to the investigation. A failure to cooperate will not prevent the investigation from taking place.
    2. Disciplinary Hearing. If, as a result of the investigation, the Disciplinary Committee determines that a full hearing is appropriate, the member will usually be advised in writing of the decision and given the details of the complaint against him/her. The member will be advised as to the nature of the complaint and given an opportunity to review any evidence or witness statements supporting the complaint. The member will be advised in writing of the time and place of the hearing, which he/she will be requested to attend. In certain circumstances, such as at or during a match, this notification may instead take place verbally, however this will always subsequently be confirmed in writing.
       1. Where possible, the member will be expected to provide a response to the complaint, in writing, as well as any evidence supporting his/her position at least 7 days in advance of the hearing, provided they have been given reasonable opportunity to review any evidence or witness statements supporting the complaint.
       2. The hearing will be conducted by the Disciplinary Committee and additional members of the UKPSA Council may be co-opted to assist at this or any other point in the proceedings. The hearing will be conducted either in person or by telephone/video conference if it is too difficult or costly to conduct the hearing with all parties physically present. This decision lies solely with the Disciplinary Committee.
       3. During the hearing, the member will be offered the opportunity to explain their response in person and discuss the complaint and all evidence with the Disciplinary Committee. Further evidence may be submitted during this process, but the Disciplinary Committee may wish to reconvene the hearing at a later time or date if they need more time to fully consider this evidence.
       4. In due course the member will be advised of the Committee’s decision and any penalty, if applicable. This will be advised in writing, either by email or by regular post. If applicable, the member will also be advised as to the right of appeal and the applicable procedure to lodge such an appeal.
    3. Right to be Accompanied at a Disciplinary Hearing. A member may choose to be accompanied or assisted by another Association member during any disciplinary hearing. A member under the age of 18 must be accompanied or assisted by an adult, who should be a member of the Association. In a case where the hearing is conducted by telephone/video conference, the chosen assistant will be included in the process.
       1. The member must advise the Disciplinary Committee, in advance, of any person the member wishes to be included in the procedures or at any hearing. Reasonable requests for such person to be involved and/or present will be accepted and the procedure may be delayed for up to 7 days to allow time to make any necessary arrangements. Some persons may not be acceptable. For example, other persons who were involved in the event(s) which led to the complaint might not be approved. The Disciplinary Committee reserves the right of approval in all cases, which will not be unreasonably withheld.
       2. Evidence submitted by the member’s assistant may be taken into consideration, but all inquiries directed to the member must be answered by the member.
       3. A member’s failure to participate in this process, or refusal to answer questions, or provide details, will not prevent the Disciplinary Committee from making a decision or determining what disciplinary action, if any, to take.
    4. Record of Formal Proceedings. The outcome of any disciplinary hearing shall be formally recorded by the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee and subsequently retained by the Association Secretary in accordance with the Associations’ Privacy Notice.
    5. Retention policy. This policy for the retention of information and evidence collected during the processing of a complaint by the Disciplinary Committee is in addition to the retention policy set out in the Association’s Privacy Notice. The following artefacts should be retained by the Disciplinary Committee for 30 days beyond the official notification that the Association considers the matter to be closed after which time they should be securely destroyed:
       • Any statements and evidence collected from Association members in the course of an investigation;
       • Any emails between members of Council and/or the Disciplinary Committee discussing the complaint;
         
       • Any notes or recordings (including, without limitation, paper, electronic, audio and video) made of meetings pertinent to this Disciplinary Procedure.
    6. The following artefacts should be retained in accordance with the retention policy set out in the Association’s Privacy Notice by the Secretary:
       • The original complaint;
         
       • All formal letters issued by Council or the Disciplinary Committee;
         
       • The outcome/findings of the Disciplinary Committee;
         
       • Any appeal received by the Association against the findings of the Disciplinary Committee;
         
       • The outcome/findings of Council in considering any appeal against the findings of the Disciplinary Committee

Sanctions