IPCC upholds more complaints than ever
More grievances against the handling of complaints by police forces are being upheld by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), a new report has found.
More grievances against the handling of complaints by police forces are being upheld by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), a new report has found.
The Police Complaints: Statistics for England and Wales 2011/12 shows more appeals by unsatisfied complainants than ever, rising by three per cent to 6,339 from the previous year.
The proportion of successful appeals against the polices failure to record a complaint rose to 61 per cent, while successful appeals against local police investigations of complaints rose to 31 per cent. The overall proportion of successful appeals rose to 38 per cent.
IPCC chair Dame Anne Owers said: It is of concern that not only has there been an increase in the number of appeals to the IPCC from those dissatisfied with the way their complaint was handled; there has also been a considerable increase in the proportion of appeals that we uphold.
All chief constables should take personal interest in the findings of this report and assure themselves that they and their staff are meeting their obligations.
The report shows considerable inconsistency between forces across several areas, such as the number of complaints recorded and upheld and the number of successful appeals to the IPCC about whether complaints are recorded and how they were dealt with.
Despite new guidance in 2010 encouraging forces to review the standard of service provided rather than a narrow assessment of whether there had been misconduct, the overall proportion of complaints that forces themselves uphold remains at 12 per cent.
This report shows that the service can continue to improve, particularly in the initial recording of complaints, said Mike Cunningham, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead for professional standards.