Rise in complaints against police

Complaints against police in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire increased above the national average in 2008-9, according to statistics released today.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said complaints in Nottinghamshire rose by 13% while in Lincolnshire the rise was 46%. The national average was 8%.

There were 614 complaint cases recorded by Nottinghamshire Police in 2008-9, up from 543 the year before. Complaints against the force have doubled in the last five years, which is in line with the national trend.

More than half the complaints were from people accusing police officers of being rude or abusive, failing to record matters or keeping parties informed.

A third of all allegations were formally investigated and nearly half were completed through a local resolution process agreed with the complainant, in which a local police supervisor gives an explanation or apology.

About one in ten complaints formally investigated were substantiated, in line with the national average.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said they were not unduly concerned with the figures.

The spokesman said: “Whilst not complacent with regard to increases in complaints numbers, our local figures in terms of trends, outcomes and investigations, mirror the national picture.

“We are satisfied that members of the public now have better and more varied opportunities to make complaints should they feel dissatisfied with the service we provide.

“We in turn take every opportunity to learn lessons from what the public tell us and to improve our service to them.”

There were 383 complaint cases recorded by Lincolnshire Police in 2008/9, up from 263 the year before. Complaints against the force have increased by 119% in the last five years, compared to a 97% rise nationally.

Nearly half the complaints were from people accusing police officers of being rude or abusive, failing to record matters or keep parties informed.

A quarter of all allegations were formally investigated and just over half were completed through a local resolution process.

Only 5% of complaints formally investigated were substantiated.

A spokesman for Lincolnshire Police said: "The rise in the number of public complaints recorded by the force during the last year is significant. However, this needs to be set in context of the amount of contact members of the force have with the public they serve and the level of service provided.

"All complaints received by the force are assessed as being either about the conduct of an individual, either officer or police staff, or alternatively about an organisational concern. The overall number of these combined complaints is relatively stable when looked at over the last few years, and are in line with the national trend.

"Part of the reason for the increase may be due to more consistent complaint recording practices. Another explanation may be an increase in public confidence in the complaints system, in that aggrieved people have a higher expectation that they will be dealt with fairly and effectively and are therefore more likely to report their concerns.

"The actual number of complaints received by Lincolnshire Police is relatively small. Therefore small numerical changes can result in high percentage variations. It should be noted that over 50% of all complaints to Lincolnshire Police are resolved at a local level.

"All complaints are taken seriously and the force is keen to learn from its mistakes. Any lessons learned are fed back into the organisation to improve how we deliver our overall service. Resolution of complaints is about re-gaining public confidence and putting right what may have gone wrong.

"Lincolnshire Police deals with an average of 157,000 incidents or calls for assistance each year, makes 22,000 arrests each year and additionally has many other contacts with the public every day of the week. Therefore an average of just over one complaint a day, whilst regrettable, needs to be viewed in terms of our level of public interaction and the challenging nature of the work we do."

IPCC chairman Nick Hardwick said: “The overall increase in the number of complaints reflects growing confidence in the system and more consistent complaint recording standards.”

IPCC commissioner Amerdeep Somal said: “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.

"We want to make sure the system focuses on sorting out complainants’ concerns and putting things right.

"People accept things will sometimes go wrong and on these occasions do not necessarily want to see an officer punished.

"But what they do want is for the mistake to be acknowledged and not repeated, put right if possible and an apology or explanation given.”

The IPCC is currently consulting on changes to its rules about how the complaint system should operate. The hope is to create a simpler and less bureaucratic system.