WIREDGOV

The 2015/16 complaints statistics show that there is considerable inconsistency in the way that police forces deal with complaints.

“The number of complaints in total has dropped by 8% since the previous year.   But this masks wide discrepancies, with one force reporting a 44% decrease through to one with a 49% increase.   We know that some forces are seeking to resolve complaints outside the formal system, and this may explain some of the differences.  But we are still finding that in four out of ten cases, forces failed to record a complaint when they should have done.   Our oversight team has been working with some forces to provide guidance, which in some cases has dramatically reduced the number of such appeals, and the number that we uphold.

“Within the system, forces can choose whether to deal with a complaint by informal local resolution, or by a formal investigation.  They must investigate if the allegation, if proved, could lead to misconduct or disciplinary proceedings.  If they use local resolution, there are very limited appeal rights.   It is unlikely that the profile of complaints among police forces varies greatly.  Yet there are huge variations in which of these two routes forces choose.   Some use local resolution in over 70% of cases, while others investigate 70%.  This appears to be a postcode lottery.

“We remain concerned about the discrepancy between appeals by complainants against local police investigations, depending on whether we or the force itself handle the appeal.   When forces do this, they uphold only 19% of cases;  when we do, we uphold 41%, over twice as many.  And there are huge variations within those figures.   Ten forces did not uphold a single appeal; six others upheld over a third.  When we deal with appeals, we uphold over half that come from some forces, and fewer than 15% in others.

 “Many of these inconsistencies arise because the system is over-complex and over-bueaucratic.   We welcome the new Bill which will simplify the definition of a complaint, provide only one appeal right, and allow more flexibility in complaints handling.   We are also pleased that, as we recommended, the appeals that do not come to us will in future go to Police and Crime Commissioners, so that every complainant will have the possibility of independent review of a police decision.   This is a welcome step forward.

“In the meantime, our force liaison and oversight teams will continue to work with forces to help them to navigate the current system.   This has had encouraging results, and we are particularly pleased that forces have commended our new regular publication, Focus,  which provides guidance on specific aspects of complaints handling.”