Police complaints system is 'over-complex and inconsistent', says watchdog

Police complaints have risen by over 60 per cent in the last decade

The allegations investigated by the police themselves led to only 14 per cent of the allegations being upheld (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The police watchdog today raised fresh concerns over the ability of forces to investigate themselves for alleged wrongdoing by officers as it revealed a record high number of public complaints in the last year.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said today that it had identified cases where police failed to properly interview the complainant or follow up lines of inquiry, leaving massive gaps in their internal inquiries.

Forces recorded more than 37,000 complaints about police in England and Wales in 2014/15, an increase in 60 per cent in the decade since it started collecting the data. About a fifth of the complaints were for “oppressive behaviour” which included alleged sexual assaults, harassment and unlawful arrest or detention.

The allegations investigated by the police themselves led to only 14 per cent of the allegations being upheld. But the watchdog revealed yesterday that it had upheld 40 per cent of appeals by dissatisfied complainants. When police heard the appeals, only 20 per cent of them were upheld.

Even when the watchdog had uncovered failings in an internal police inquiry it could only refer the case back to the force. Some of those cases bounced between the organisations without any final decision being made.

Dame Anne Owers, Chair of the IPCC, said that chief officers had to look hard at their own figures to ensure that people who complained were being treated properly. “These figures show a complaints system that is both over-complex and inconsistent, and is clearly failing to satisfy a significant number of complainants,” she said.

“However, the underlying problem is the system itself. We welcome the fact that the government proposes to bring in legislation to simplify and streamline a system that at present satisfies neither those who need it nor those who have to operate it.”

Dame Anne Owers, Chairwoman of the IPCC (Getty)

The report examined lower level complaints that were investigated by the forces themselves, sometimes under the supervision of the watchdog and showed how many dragged on for months. The most serious complaints of police misconduct – which could result in sacking or criminal prosecutions – are carried out by the IPCC.