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Complaints against police up by 8%
24.09.09
Complaints against the police shot up by 8% last year, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said today.
The police watchdog said members of the public made 31,259 complaints against forces in England and Wales in 2008/09.
That is an increase of 2,296 on the 2007/08 total of 28,963 and it means more than 600 complaints are made every week.
One in every four was for "neglect of duty" - officers being slow or ineffective when responding to calls, the IPCC said, and one in five was for officers being rude.
Around one complaint in 10 is upheld, the IPCC said. The figures exclude complaints against the police over the G20 protests on April 1 this year, which fell just outside the reporting period.
They are likely to be worrying for both the Home Office and senior officers, coming despite efforts to make officers more accountable to the public.
Newly released data from the 2006/7 British Crime Survey revealed more than one in four of those asked said their contact with the police had left them "really annoyed".
But of those, only one in ten made a complaint, suggesting even wider levels of public dissatisfaction with the police.
IPCC chairman Nick Hardwick said the public expected officers to do their jobs "politely and efficiently".
He said: "At a time when politicians and the police are debating public confidence in the police and how to make them more accountable, the complaint figures published today give a strong indication of what the public want sorted out.
"Complaints about rude and late officers consistently top complaint categories and work to address this can have a positive impact.
"The public recognise the police have a difficult job to do. However, this does not alter the fact that they expect officers to do their job politely and efficiently.
"These statistics show that when it is not done in this manner they are likely to complain."
The complaint figures cover the 43 regional forces in England and Wales and the British Transport Police.
Each individual complaint is broken down into its component allegations.
Last year there were 53,534 separate allegations, up 11% from 48,280.
Complaints about stop and search were up 27%, albeit to a relatively small total of 680.
Senior officers said they were determined to improve people's everyday experience of dealing with the police.
Association of Chief Police Officers spokesman, Chief Constable John Feavyour said: "The IPCC and ACPO have worked hard to build confidence in the complaints process and are determined that all those working in the police service should recognise the importance of learning from this data.
"The ability to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public is an essential requirement for an effective police service.
"The police service has been focused in its commitment to improve people's everyday experience of policing, addressing what matters on their streets and in local neighbourhoods through the Policing Pledge.
"Rudeness and neglect of duty are far removed from the standards required of staff within the police.
"Each day, thousands of interactions take place with the public. Inevitably there will be occasions where we do not always get it right.
"When we get it wrong we should recognise the facts quickly, encourage debate and be willing to listen to the views of those who wish to engage in the policing debate and learn more from them."
Simon Reed, vice-chairman of the Police Federation, which represents frontline officers, said: "One of the strengths of British policing is our accountability to the public we serve, but you have to look carefully at these latest complaints against police statistics and not just focus on the headline figures.
"These complaints not only reflect the increasing pressures on police officers but also highlight the need to invest in appropriate training for officers so they have the confidence and skills to deal with the challenging situations they face.
"Despite many of these initial complaints not being upheld or proven, these statistics demonstrate that some forces are not learning lessons and those systemic and structural faults which hinder policing need to be addressed.
"It needs to also be borne in mind that the very nature of policing means that often police officers are interacting with those who would rather not be stopped or questioned by police and there is therefore an element of malicious complaints, which explains the high percentage of complaints that are unfounded."
Reader views (4)
Aaaah - the IPCC - a politically motivated body who would never admit to a drop in complaints as it would be the equivalent of a turkey voting for Christmas... and then Hardwick might have to go out and get a real job.
Yes, complaints probably have gone up - mainly due to the insistence from the complaints department in the Met that any complaint - not just those found to be substantiated - has to be recorded and gets shown in the statistics. Therefore a complaint from Mrs Miggins about the amount of time she had to wait for a police officer, which may be quickly resolved at the end of a telephone by an Inspector, has the same impact in the IPCC figures as something potentially more serious.
On the matter of incivility, there is a training issue. Having seen the way the public talk to police on a lot of occasions, I am not surprised when I hear of officers responding in kind...it's not professional, but sometimes understandable, and therefore there is a training need to stop officers lowering themselves to that level. What I really find amusing is once this happens, the member of the public suddenly profess themselves to be 'shocked' 'horrified' and 'disgusted'.
'One in ten complaints are upheld' - shouldn't the IPCC be commenting about the fact that 90% of complaints aren't upheld?....or is that asking too much?
- 'Observer', SW London
If these figures are true then it wouldn't take a rocket scientist very long to work out that when the standards for entry are lowered, the quality of officer is similarly lowered.
- Rob, london
I'm surprised complaints are only up 8%. Like most people I've certainly noticed the decline in standards of police officers. maybe it's something to do with trying to hit "targets" of recruiting a wide range of "abilities" ie alleged rapists (let's see how that one pans out), a certifiable idiot who was a firearms instructor for over 15 years and was still too thick to know that a loaded magnum shoiuldn't be pointed at someone and fired (maybe they were holding a chair leg). Most police I've met seem to forget they are servants and when they do anything wrong (assault, wrongful arrest) they will lie happily for each other to cover up there own inadequacies. (Usually the short ones I find who think they're Napoleon). Policing is simple if you rememebr what you are supposed to be doing. Trying to appease every minority pressure group is not. Go for the easy target, even the Police can't miss.
- Jon, london
Bearing in mind that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (quango?) is about as "Independent" as a plank of wood nailed to a barn door, it appropriately follows that these reported figures are merely the tip of the iceberg.
I do NOT trust Politicians.
I do NOT trust manipulated government statistics.
The last body I would ever trust is the laughable Independent Police Complaints Commission.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR
