IOPC Director General comments on Police Complaints Statistics report 2023/24

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) today published its annual report on ‘Police complaints - statistics for England and Wales in 2023/24'.

The report provides an overview of police complaints – identifying the volume and type of complaints made, and how forces handled them from first contact with the complainant to completion.

Changes to the complaints system

Significant changes were made to the complaints system in February 2020 to make it simpler and more proportionate – this included widening the definition of a complaint to “any dissatisfaction with the police service”. This is the fourth set of statistics published since the change - the data should still be treated as experimental and comparisons with previous years treated with caution. 

Key findings

• The number of police complaints in England and Wales rose to 85,458 – a 5% increase on the total number logged in the previous year (151,538 allegations in total - a complaint case may involve more than one allegation).
• Of these 32,511 were formally recorded under Schedule 3 of the Police Reform Act 2002, a 3% increase on the previous year.
• Forces took an average of six working days to contact a complainant after the complaint was made – one day longer than the previous year.

• The largest proportion of allegations (53%) related to ‘delivery of duties and service’, the second highest was ‘police powers, policies and procedures’ at 21%, followed by ‘individual behaviours’ at 13%.
• ‘Discriminatory behaviours’ made up 3% (4,575) of allegations. 50% of these were allegations of race discrimination, 18% about disability, and 14% of sex discrimination.
• ‘Discreditable conduct’ was 1% of the total allegations (1,019 allegations) an increase of 37% on the previous year.

• 81,776 complaints were finalised during the year (31,182 formally and 50,594 informally) - a 4% increase on the previous year.
• Of the 31,182 complaint cases handled formally, 57% had at least one allegation resulting in an explanation being given, 13% had at least one allegation resulting in learning for an individual or a police force and 7% had at least one allegation resulting in an apology or debrief.
• 141 complaint cases (less than 1%) that were handled formally and subject to a special procedures investigation had at least one allegation resulting in either misconduct meeting or hearing.
• Forces took on average 20 working days to finalise a complaint handled informally (two days more than in the previous year) and 133 working days to complete complaints handled formally (increase of eight days).

• Local Policing Bodies received 4,275 applications from complainants requesting a review of how their complaint had been handled, a reduction of 91 on the previous year. They found that for 21% of complaints that were not investigated by forces, and 25% where there had been a police investigation, the handling or outcome was not reasonable or proportionate.
• The IOPC received 2,136 applications to review complaints handled by police forces, a 7% increase on the previous year. We found that for 32% of complaints that were not investigated by forces, and for 33% complaints where there had been a police investigation, the handling or outcome was not reasonable or proportionate.

Commenting on the report, IOPC Director General Rachel Watson said: “We are working closely with forces to help ensure professional standards departments get complaint handling right first time. 

“It is encouraging to see forces continued to contact complainants promptly. Early communication is vital and, while the average time taken rose slightly to six days, this is still a quick response and provides the opportunity to resolve complaints as quickly as possible.

“This year saw an 5% rise in the number of complaints logged, with more than half relating to the relatively everyday issues classed as ‘the delivery of duties and services’, rather than serious misconduct.

“There was a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct in 26% of allegations investigated subject to special procedures, a small rise on last year.

“Despite the increase in complaints, the number that police forces finalised also rose. It is good to see that forces are managing to handle the volume, closing on average roughly the same amount of cases as they open. We look forward to continuing working with them to improve the process and achieve greater public confidence.”

New complaints handling toolkit

Early communication is a crucial part of complaint handling. In March 2024 we published a new complaint handling toolkit with guidance to support complaint handlers through the process. This was aimed at achieving best practice and greater consistency across all police forces. 

Information on the complaints process

What is a police complaint?

A police complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction by a member of the public about the service they have received from a police force. All expressions of dissatisfaction must be logged. The IOPC sets the standards for complaints handling through its statutory guidance.

Who handles complaints?

Police forces and local policing bodies deal with the majority of complaints themselves. Each force has a department that makes sure that complaints are dealt with appropriately, these are usually called professional standards departments.

The system also allows for more complaints to be handled informally, where appropriate, such as by an apology or explanation. A person can request a review if they are unhappy with the way their complaint was handled.

How to make a complaint

To make a complaint, you can:

• complain directly to the relevant police force or organisation
• complete the IOPC’s online form
• complete the word or pdf version of our complaints form

You can also complain by telephoning 101 or by visiting any police station. There are full details on the IOPC website.