Catalogue of complaints against police revealed

A BBC survey showed 2,073 officers were subject to three or more allegations against them from the public during 2009/10.

Most complaints were about rudeness, assault or failure of duty, according to the Freedom of Information request.

The Police Force of Northern Ireland had the highest number of officers with three or more complaints, at 376.

The Metropolitan Police was second with 273 officers, followed by Greater Manchester with 160, Kent with 130 and West Mercia with 117.

Altogether, the statistics from 43 out of 52 constabularies showed more than 5,000 complaints were made against officers over the past year.

According to the BBC, in Dyfed-Powys 40 allegations were made against one inspector and 38 against one constable during the year.

One officer in the West Midlands was also made to wear a headcam on duty because of the allegations, while another had their Taser training deferred.

Of the minority of forces which provided details about the complaint outcomes, more than half led to no further action.