Police complaints Statistics for England and Wales (plain text format) - 2021/22

Each year, we publish statistics about the complaints that forces have logged. We also produce quarterly bulletins for all police forces.

Read our release - IOPC Director General comments on Police Complaints Statistics report 2021/22

Contents

• Introduction
• Findings
• Initial handling of complaints and how long it takes
• What complaints were about
• Who complains and who is subject to complaints
• Time taken to informally handle a complaint and the outcomes
• Time taken to formally handle a complaint and the outcomes
• Reviews
• Discussion
• Number of complaints and what is complained about
• Who complains and who is subject to the complaints
• Handling and outcomes of complaints
• Reviews
• Conclusion
• Data considerations
• Statistical notes
• Data tables
• Glossary

Introduction

The Policing and Crime Act 2017 and supporting regulations made significant changes to the police complaints and disciplinary systems. These changes were designed to achieve a simpler, more proportionate and customer-focused complaints system focused on learning and improvement. The changes were implemented on 1 February 2020.

New recording guidance was issued alongside changes to complaints legislation to improve how information about complaints is recorded. These changes aim to make complaints data more meaningful.

This report presents figures on complaints about the police in England and Wales for the financial year 2021/22. It presents different data from previous annual complaints reports due to the changes in legislation and recording practice.

A police complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction by a member of the public about the service they have received from a police force. Police forces and local policing bodies deal with the majority of complaints themselves. The IOPC sets the standards for complaints handling through its Statutory Guidance 2020.

Statutory Guidance helps local policing bodies and forces achieve high standards in handling complaints about those serving with the police. It also helps them to comply with their legal obligations. The IOPC also oversees the complaints system and investigates the most serious and sensitive cases. It also carries out some reviews of complaints.

The first stage of complaint handling is for the relevant police force or local policing body to decide how it will handle the complaint. The reforms allow for certain types of complaints to be resolved informally, while also allowing more flexibility in the handling of formal complaints. This allows the police to better meet the needs of the complainant, and quickly make improvements based on the complaints they handle.

A person can request a review if they are unhappy with the way their complaint was handled or the final outcome. In some instances, this review will be carried out by the IOPC. Other reviews are handled by local policing bodies (Police and Crime Commissioners and Mayors).

This is the second year of reporting on the changes to the complaints system. Most of the data referred to in this report was recorded on police force IT systems and collected by the IOPC. Police forces updated their systems at different times, and it will take time for those inputting data to develop their understanding. While data have undergone quality assurance checks the statistics remain subject to testing of quality and volitility. Therefore, they should be treated as experimental [1] to acknowledge that they should be interpreted with caution and that further development is currently taking place.

We have given police forces guidance setting out how we expect them to record the data we collect. Therefore, the consistency of the data we report relies on police forces applying our guidance correctly when they record data.

Our guidance on how police forces should record data about complaints under the Police Reform Act 2002 (PRA 2002), as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2017, is on our website www.policeconduct.gov.uk

Findings

Initial handling of complaints and how long it takes

Complaint cases logged

Significant change has been made to the complaints system in this area, widening the definition of a complaint to make the system more accessible. This means many more complaints will now be logged than in previous years.

The definition of 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. Some dissatisfaction, which does not meet the criteria for recording a complaint under Schedule 3 of the PRA 2002, may be resolved quickly to the satisfaction of the complainant. Other expressions of dissatisfaction must be recorded.

• In 2021/22, police forces and local policing bodies logged 75,020 complaint cases (table 1).
• Forces took on average six working days to log complaints from the date the complaint was made (table 3).
• Most forces (27) logged complaints in five working days or less. Of the 17 forces that took more than five working days, seven had logged more than 1,500 complaints and included the Metropolitan Police Service, Greater Manchester Police and Thames Valley Police.

There are considerable differences in the size of police forces across England and Wales. This impacts the number of complaint cases logged by forces. Direct comparison of the number of complaint cases across forces would not take into account these size variations.

A complaint cases rate per 1,000 police force employees is used to provide a meaningful comparison of complaints logged across forces.

• In 2021/22, 309 complaint cases per 1,000 employees across all forces were logged (table 2).
• Complaint case rates per 1,000 employees ranged from 90 in North Yorkshire Police to 697 in Cleveland Police.

Time taken to contact the complainant

When handling complaints, the body responsible must contact the complainant and seek their views about how the complaint should be handled. This should happen as soon as possible after the complaint is made.

• In 2021/22, forces took an average of nine working days from the date the complaint was made to contact the complainant (table 3).
• The time forces took to contact complainants ranged from an average of one day (Cheshire Constabulary, Northumbria Police and Warwickshire Police) to 44 days in West Midlands Police (table 3).

Recording complaints

The new reforms allow for certain complaints to be handled informally. Schedule 3 of the PRA 2002 sets out legal requirements for police complaint handling.

A complaint does not need to be formally recorded under Schedule 3 of the PRA 2002 if it can be resolved quickly and to the satisfaction of the complainant. Even if attempts are made to initially handle the complaint outside of the requirements of Schedule 3, it may later be recorded and handled under Schedule 3 of the PRA 2002. Information about recording complaints is available in Chapter 6 of our Statutory Guidance (2020).

There are four reasons why a complaint must be recorded under Schedule 3:

• the complainant wants it to be recorded
• the nature of the allegation(s) mean it must be recorded
• the appropriate authority/body responsible for initial handling decides it is appropriate
• the complainant is dissatisfied following informal handling

Reasons complaint cases recorded under Schedule 3 in 2021/22

• A total of 35,738 complaint cases logged in 2021/22 were subsequently recorded under Schedule 3 of the PRA 2002 (table 4).
• In 41% (14,760) of cases, the body responsible for the initial handling of the complaint decided it should be recorded.
• Just under a third (32%, 11,459) of complaints were recorded because the complainant wanted it to be recorded.
• 15% (5,498) of complaint cases were recorded due to the nature of the allegations made.
• In 11% (4,021) of cases, the complainant was dissatisfied with the informal handling and requested their complaint be recorded.

What complaints were about

A complaint case may include one or more allegations. Each allegation is allocated to one of 11 categories and a subcategory if applicable. The purpose of the categories is to capture the root of the dissatisfaction expressed in a complaint.

• In 2021/22, 120,690 allegations were logged (table 5).
• The five most commonly logged allegation categories in 2021/22 were:
  • delivery of duties and service
  • police powers, policies and procedures
  • individual behaviours
  • handling of or damage to property/premises
  • discriminatory behaviour

These five categories account for 93% of all allegations logged.

• The most common allegation was logged under the ‘delivery of duties and service’ category. This category accounted for more than half (53%) of all the allegations logged in 2021/22.

Allegations logged in 2021/22 by category.

Who complains and who is subject to complaints

Who makes the complaints

In 2021/22, 69,804 people complained about the police.

• Most complainants were men (51%, 35,774) (table 8).
• Where known, most complainants were White (51%, 35,895). It should be noted the ethnicity of 36% (25,219) of complainants was either not stated or unknown (table 9).
• The most common age groups to complain about the police were those aged 30 to 39 years (21%, 14,464 complainants), closely followed by those aged 40 to 49 years (18%, 12,798). The people who complained least commonly were aged 17 or under. However, caution is advised when looking at the breakdown by age owing to 19% (13,336) of complainants whose age is unknown (table 10).

Who is complained about

In 2021/22, 50,559 people serving with the police were subject to a complaint.

• 63% (31,939) of those complained about were men and 30% (15,339) were women (table 11).
• Most people subject to a complaint were White (79%, 40,101). However, caution is advised when looking at the breakdown by ethnicity due to the number of subjects (14%, 7,281) with unknown or not stated ethnicity (table 12).

Time taken to informally handle a complaint and the outcomes

Informal complaint handling is an opportunity to address promptly the concerns a complainant has raised. The key consideration is whether a course of action is appropriate and whether it will be an effective response to a complaint.

Allegations finalised

An allegation is considered finalised when the complainant is notified about the outcome of the allegation (a decision) and any planned action.

• In 2021/22, police forces finalised 43,127 allegations on complaint cases that were handled informally (table 14).
• On average, these allegations took 21 working days to finalise (table 15).

Allegation decisions

Where a complaint case is handled informally, the allegation decision will be ‘resolved’ or ‘not resolved’.

• In 2021/22, 94% of allegations handled informally were resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant (table 19).

The remaining 6% could not be resolved and will either have been recorded under Schedule 3 or withdrawn by the complainant.

Complaint cases finalised

A complaint case is finalised when all actions relating to that case are complete.

In 2021/22, 38,365 complaint cases were finalised informally (table 20).

These complaint cases took an average of 24 working days to finalise (table 21). This is longer than the 21 working days taken to handle allegations as it includes the time to complete all the actions on the case.

Actions

Any actions taken in response to the allegation are recorded; multiple actions can be recorded for each allegation.

• The most common action resulting from complaints handled informally was an explanation. 48% of complaint cases finalised resulted in an explanation being given to the complainant (table 22).
• 29% of complaint cases finalised informally had at least one allegation resulting in no further action (table 22).
• Different types of learning can be selected as the outcome of complaints. These are organisational learning and learning from reflection. These amount to 3% of the outcomes. Actions such as providing an apology or conducting a debrief accounted for a further 10%. Therefore, some sort of learning/reflective activity accounted for the outcome in 13% of cases (table 22).

Time taken to formally handle a complaint and the outcomes

All complaints recorded formally should be handled in a reasonable and proportionate manner. This may mean:

• an investigation
• otherwise responding to concerns raised and seeking to resolve them
• notifying the complainant that no further action will be taken

Allegations finalised

An allegation is considered finalised when the complainant is notified about the outcome of the allegation (a decision) and any planned action.

• In 2021/22, police forces finalised 74,246 allegations on complaint cases handled formally (table 14).

Allegations handled by investigation

If an allegation is investigated, the investigation will fall into one of three types: local, directed or independent. Please see the glossary for an explanation of the different forms of investigation.

If at any time during an investigation, the investigating officer thinks a person complained about may have

• committed a criminal offence; or
• behaved in a manner which would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings

the investigation must be certified as subject to special procedures (see explanation of ‘special procedures’ in the glossary).

• In 2021/22, 24% of the 74,246 allegations handled under Schedule 3 were investigated (table 14).
• 7% of those (1,359 out of 18,169) were finalised by investigations subject to special procedures (table 16).
• Of allegations handled formally, the proportion investigated ranged from 2% in Cleveland Police to 92% in Thames Valley Police.
• Allegations finalised by local investigation took an average of just over six months (134 working days) for forces to complete (table 15).

Allegations handled otherwise than by investigation

Most allegations will not need a full investigation to reach a conclusion and a decision.

• In 2021/22, the majority (76%) of allegations handled formally were finalised otherwise than by investigation (table 14).
• These allegations took forces four months (84 working days) on average to finalise (table 15).

Allegation decisions

Often a complaint case will contain several different allegations. Some may be subject to special procedures and others not. It is possible to handle all allegations in the same way. As such, a complaint case that is investigated subject to special procedures may contain non-special procedures allegations and the decision will reflect this (table 19).

• It was found there was a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct in 22% of allegations investigated subject to special procedures.
• 52% of allegations investigated subject to special procedures found no case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct.
• 4% found that the service provided was not acceptable.
• The remaining allegations investigated subject to special procedures found that either the service was acceptable, no further action was taken, or the complaint was withdrawn.
• It was found the service provided was acceptable in almost three quarters (71%) of allegations investigated where special procedures did not apply.
• The service provided was acceptable in the majority (67%) of the allegations finalised formally that were not investigated.

Complaint cases finalised

A complaint case is considered finalised when all actions relating to that case are complete. This includes:

• the time during which an application to review can be made
• the time it takes to deal with a review
• the time it takes for actions resulting from a recommendation or direction, made either following an investigation or consideration of a review, to be completed
• the time for the actions arising from a reflective practice review process (RPRP) meeting to be communicated to the complainant or their representative
• the time it takes for misconduct and/or criminal proceedings to conclude
• the time for initial outcomes of unsatisfactory performance procedures to be decided

A total of 33,602 complaint cases were finalised formally in 2021/22 (table 20).

• It took an average of 108 working days to finalise complaint cases formally in 2021/22 (table 21).
• The average time forces took to finalise complaint cases formally ranged from 54 in City of London Police and Humberside Police to 191 working days in North Yorkshire Police (table 21).

Actions

• Of the 33,602 complaint cases handled formally in 2021/22, just under half (48%) had at least one allegation resulting in no further action being taken (table 23).
• 68 complaint cases that were handled formally and subject to a special procedures investigation had at least one allegation resulting in either misconduct meeting or hearing (table 23).
• 12% of complaint cases had at least one allegation resulting in learning for either the individual or the police force (table 23).
• 3% (1,003) of complaint cases handled formally had at least one allegation resulting in a referral to RPRP (table 23).
• 6% of complaint cases had at least one allegation resulting in an apology or debrief taking place (table 23).
• 37% of complaint cases had at least one allegation resulting in an explanation being provided (table 23).

Reviews

The complainant has a right to apply for a review where a complaint has been recorded under Schedule 3 of the PRA 2002. They can apply for a review if they are unhappy with the way their complaint was handled, or with the final outcome.

The application for review will be considered by the local policing body or the IOPC. The relevant review body depends on the circumstances of the complaint. The relevant review body will look at whether the handling and the outcome of the complaint was reasonable and proportionate.

There is no right of review against a complaint handled informally outside of Schedule 3. The complainant can request the complaint be recorded and handled formally if they are not satisfied with the outcome given to them. This will bring it inside the scope of Schedule 3 and, when the complaint is finalised, the complainant will get a right of review to the relevant review body.

Local policing body (LPB) reviews

In 2021/22, LPBs received 5,030 applications from complainants requesting a review of how their complaint had been handled or its final outcome. This is an increase of 16% compared to the number received in 2020/21 (table 24).

• The number of reviews LPBs received following complaints that had not been investigated was 4,456.
• The number of reviews received following complaints that had been investigated was 574.

Outcome of LPB reviews

• In 2021/22, 15% of reviews about complaints that were not investigated found the complaint outcome was not reasonable and proportionate (table 25).
• The proportion of non-investigation reviews that found the outcome was not reasonable and proportionate varied considerably across police forces from 0% in two forces to 73% in Warwickshire Police (table 25).
• 27% (184 out of 689) of the investigation reviews completed by LPBs found the complaint outcome was not reasonable and proportionate.
• LPBs for nine forces completed ten or more reviews of police force investigations (table 25).
• Nineteen LPBs completed no investigation reviews.

IOPC reviews

In 2021/22, the IOPC received 1,605 applications to review complaints dealt with by police forces, an increase of 66% on 2020/21 (table 26).

• In 2021/22, the IOPC received 817 applications to review complaints not investigated by police forces.
• The number of reviews received following complaints that had been investigated was 788.

Outcome of IOPC reviews

• In 2021/22, the IOPC found the outcome in 37% of complaints that had not been investigated was not reasonable and proportionate (table 27).
• 31% (182 out of 592) of the investigation reviews completed by the IOPC found the complaint outcome was not reasonable and proportionate (table 27).

Discussion

Number of complaints and what is complained about

Compared to last year, the number of complaints logged fluctuates across forces and there was a small increase nationally.

The largest proportion of complaints relate to ‘delivery of duties and service’. This covers police action after contact with the public and the general level of service the police offer. This might include complaints about an ongoing criminal investigation, the time it took for police to attend an incident or lack of updates in relation to a reported matter. There has been a 21% rise in complaints that police forces categorise as service level complaints which largely accounts for the national increase in complaint numbers.

There has been a 40% increase in the number of complaints finalised. This is due to pre-February 2020 cases not being included in last year’s data so there were fewer complaints carried over.

Who complains and who is subject to the complaints

Eighty four % of complaints made relate to police officers, which is as expected considering the amount of contact they have with the public. The next largest group complained about is police staff at 9%.

There are still considerable gaps in recording demographic data for complainants as well as those being complained about. More data has been collected about the ethnicity of complainants than last year, with ethnicity data (including prefer not to say) for 69% of complainants as opposed to 61%. There has been no improvement for information on the ethnicity of those being complained about.

Merseyside, Cleveland and Thames Valley all have ethnicity data for more than 80% of complainants, while North Yorkshire, Wiltshire and Nottinghamshire have improved the most in this area. West Yorkshire captures ethnicity data for practically all subjects of complaints while South Wales have seen significant improvements in the collection of this data.

It is positive to see that improvements can be made but the changes are not as wholescale as we had hoped to see in this area. It is vital this data is collected in order to draw meaningful insights and address any disproportionality within the system. We will continue to work with other oversight bodies and police forces to improve the quality of this data.

Handling and outcomes of complaints

Once a complaint is made, it is important that the complainant is contacted so that the complaint can be understood fully. Contact with the complainant was made, on average, within nine days of the complaint being made; this is two days longer than the average last year and is an area where service could potentially be improved.

Notably, there were five forces who more than halved the number of days taken to contact complainants: Northumbria, Surrey, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire and Hertfordshire. This is through a range of initiatives, including having specific customer service focussed members of staff to contact complainants.

Informal handling and outcomes

Complaints that are handled informally should be dealt with flexibly, focussing on customer service. These complaints should be dealt with quickly – usually within days rather than weeks.

Cases took an average of 24 days to complete. This is one day quicker than the average from last year. South Wales, Northumbria, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire all complete these cases within eight days. Dyfed-Powys, South Yorkshire, Merseyside and the Metropolitan Police Service have all significantly improved their timeliness in this area.

The most common outcome was that complainants were offered an explanation. There was also a significant increase in the number of apologies given. The numbers of learning outcomes from these complaints are still small. Given the volume of cases, it is likely there are more opportunities to learn and improve the service to the public from this type of complaint.

Formal handling and outcomes

Of those cases handled formally, 24% were subject to formal investigations. This has increased from 13% last year, most likely due to complaints that were started last year and finalised this year. It took forces an average of 134 days to complete a complaint investigation - an increase of 28 days. This figure will fluctuate over time as older cases are closed that have not featured in this data set. It is notable this is still quicker than investigations completed under the old complaints system.

The remaining 76% of cases handled formally did not require a full investigation to reach a conclusion and outcomes. These cases should be handled more quickly and flexibly. They took on average 84 days to complete - an increase of 27 days. Notable exceptions to the increase are South Yorkshire, Northumbria and Hertfordshire.

Of those cases completed in 2021/22, proceedings were held for 68 compared to 18 the year before, although this number has increased it still means that less than 1% of cases resulted in misconduct proceedings. Only 3% of cases were referred to RPRP, although there was an increase in the other reflective learning outcomes.

No further action is still the most common outcome of formally recorded complaints. We have run workshops focussing on this and have seen a significant reduction in both the volume and proportion of complaints using this as a response (17% in the volume and 9% in the proportion). In many cases, we have found actions have been taken but have been incorrectly flagged as no further action. We continue to advise on this and hope to see a further reduction next year. The number of cases where an explanation or apology have been given have increased dramatically, around double the previous year’s volumes for both. This is an increase of 14% in the proportion of explanations and a 1% increase in the proportion of apologies. This gives a more tangible outcome to complainants.

Reviews

A complainant can request a review if they are not satisfied with how their complaint was handled. The nature of the complaint determines whether the review should be handled by the local policing body or the IOPC. There has been a 25% rise in demand for reviews for both the local policing body and the IOPC, although the rise is more significant for the IOPC (66% for IOPC compared to 16% for local policing bodies). This is likely to be because of the work done around the test which determines who should carry out a review. We have run workshops with professional standards departments and local policing bodies and given individual assistance in relation to the test so there is increased understanding in this area.

Local policing bodies have seen a noticeable drop in the number of investigation reviews they are receiving. As the most serious complaints are investigated, it is right that the majority of these reviews are completed by the IOPC.

Local policing bodies have upheld 27% of reviews for investigated complaints and 15% for non-investigated complaints, while the IOPC have upheld 31% investigated and 37% not investigated.

Conclusion

There has not been dramatic changes from this year and last year, although there are minor statistical differences between years, particularly at individual force levels. We are seeing changes as a result of the inputs we have given, notably around the review body test and no further action. We expect to see further changes as this understanding is embedded.

We are giving further guidance around handling discrimination complaints and, separately, using reflective practice as part of complaints handling. We believe this new guidance will bring improved understanding and outcomes in these areas in the future.

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Data considerations

This report only presents information about complaints handled under the new regime implemented 1 February 2020 and 4 January 2021 for the British Transport Police.

Hampshire Constabulary only started capturing information about complaints handled outside of Schedule 3 from February 2021.

The flexibility in the new system means there will be different ways to handle complaints in a reasonable and proportionate manner. Some forces will choose to handle matters in a different way to other forces.

In 2020/21, we were unable to report on complaints handled outside of Schedule 3 to the PRA 2002 by Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire Constabulary due to technical issues. These issues have been resolved since the publication of police complaints information bulletins for Quarter 4 2021/22. Therefore, figures presented in this report for these forces may differ from the previously published data. Most similar force averages for forces which have Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire or Hertfordshire in their group will also differ from previously published data.

Figures for City of London include complaints about Action Fraud. Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. The service is run by the City of London Police, which is the national policing lead for economic crime.

Statistical notes

• In the percentage columns presented in the following tables, ‘-’ denotes no data and ‘0’ denotes less than 0.5%.
• Some percentages may add up to more or less than 100% due to rounding.
• Average times are presented as working days and do not include weekends or bank holidays.
• Complaint cases and allegations with invalid start/end dates have been removed from average time calculations. Therefore, the numbers of complaint cases and allegations used in the average time calculations may be lower than the total number of complaint cases and allegations finalised.

Data tables

Table 1: Number of complaint cases logged in 2021/22

Please note, the figures for City of London include complaint cases logged in relation to ‘Action Fraud’. Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. The service is run by the City of London Police, which is the national policing lead for economic crime.

Table 2: Number of complaint cases logged per 1,000 employees in 2021/22

* Number of employees is taken from the Home Office publication Police Workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2021.

Table 3: Time taken to log complaints and contact complainants in 2021/22

Table 4: Reasons complaint cases recorded under Schedule 3 in 2021/22

Table 5: Number of allegations logged in 2021/22

Please note, the figures for City of London include allegations logged in relation to ‘Action Fraud’. Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. The service is run by the City of London Police, which is the national policing lead for economic crime.

* Number of employees is taken from Home Office publication Police Workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2021.

Table 6: Number of allegations logged - what has been complained about in 2021/22

*The number of allegations logged presented in this table are only those with a category recorded. Therefore they may not match the actual number of allegations logged presented in Table 5.

Table 7: Number of allegations logged - what has been complained about and subcategories in 2021/22

The number of allegations logged presented in this table are only those with a category recorded. Therefore they may not match the actual number of allegations logged presented in Table 5.

Table 8: Gender of complainants in 2021/22

Table 9: Ethnicity of complainants in 2021/22

Table 10: Age of complainants in 2021/22

Tables 8 to 10: Complainants are only counted once in these tables regardless of how many complaints they have made throughout the year.

Table 10: Complainant’s age data for allegations handled outside of Schedule 3 by Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire is not available in 2021/22.

Table 11: Gender of those subject to a complaint in 2021/22

Table 12: Ethnicity of those subject to a complaint in 2021/22

Tables 11 and 12: Subjects are only counted once in these tables, regardless of how many complaints they have been subject to in the year.

Table 13: Rank of those subject to a complaint in 2021/22

Table 13: The total number of subjects will not match the figures in tables 11 and 12. This is because people subject to more than one complaint in the year may have held different ranks at the time each allegation was logged. In such cases they will be counted more than once (for each rank).

Table 14: Means by which allegations were finalised in 2021/22

Table 15: Time taken to finalise allegations in 2021/22

Only allegations with valid dates are used in the calculation for the average number of days to finalise allegations.

Table 16: Allegations finalised by investigation under Schedule 3 in 2021/22

Table 17: Nature of allegations finalised outside of Schedule 3 in 2021/22

Table 18: Nature of allegations finalised under Schedule 3 by how they were handled in 2021/22

Table 19: Decisions on allegations by how they were handled in 2021/22

The number of allegations presented in this table may not match the totals in Table 14. This is due to a small number of finalised allegations which had recorded decisions incompatible with the way they were handled. These have been excluded from the totals.

Table 20: Number of complaint cases finalised in 2021/22

Table 21: Time taken to finalise complaint cases in 2021/22

*The number of complaint cases presented in this table are only those with valid dates that are used in the calculation for the average number of days to finalise complaint cases. Therefore they may not match the actual number of complaint cases finalised presented in Table 20.

Table 22: Actions on complaint cases handled outside of Schedule 3 in 2021/22

Actions are captured at allegation level and multiple actions can be selected on a single allegation. The figures in the table are based on complaint cases finalised in the year with at least one allegation that resulted in the corresponding action.

Not all of the available actions arising from the complaint handling are shown. The actions presented in the table are those that focus on putting the issue right and preventing it from happening again.

Table 23: Actions on complaint cases handled under Schedule 3 in 2021/22

Actions are captured at allegation level and multiple actions can be selected on a single allegation. The figures in the table are based on complaint cases finalised in the year with at least one allegation that resulted in the corresponding action.

Not all of the available actions arising from the complaint handling are shown. The actions presented in the table are those that focus on putting the issue right and preventing it from happening again.

Table 24: Applications for a review received by LPBs in 2021/22

Table 25: Outcome of reviews completed by LPBs in 2021/22

Some caution is advised when looking at the percentage of reviews that found the complaint case outcome was not reasonable and proportionate due to the sometimes small number of reviews involved.

Table 26: Applications for a review received by the IOPC in 2021/22

Table 27: Outcome of reviews completed by the IOPC in 2021/22

Some reviews may be deemed ‘invalid’ and these have been excluded from the number of “valid completed” and the calculation for “% outcome not reasonable and proportionate”.

Some caution is advised when looking at the percentage of reviews that found the complaint case outcome was not reasonable and proportionate due to the sometimes small number of reviews involved.

Glossary

Allegation

This describes what is being complained about. An allegation is made by someone defined as a complainant under the Police Reform Act 2002 (see ‘complainant’). An allegation may be made by one or more complainants about the service they received from a police force. For example, about force-wide crime initiatives, organisation of policing resources, or general policing standards. However, it can also be about the conduct of any person serving with the police. A complaint case may involve more than one allegation. For example, a person may allege that an officer pushedi and was rude to them. This would be logged as two separate allegations forming one complaint case. Each allegation is logged against a specific category (a full list of the allegation categories and their definitions can be found in the IOPC’s guidance on capturing data about police complaints).

Appropriate authority

(Section 29, Police Reform Act 2002)

The organisation responsible for assessing how to deal with a complaint. For example, whether it can be handled locally or reaches the criteria for referral to the IOPC. The appropriate authority may be the chief officer of the police force or the police and crime commissioner for the force. If a complaint investigation finds someone has a case to answer for misconduct, the appropriate authority is responsible for arranging any misconduct proceedings. If you make a complaint, the appropriate authority for your case will contact you.

Complainant

A person who makes a complaint about the conduct of someone serving with the police or about a police force. The law sets out the circumstances that need to exist for someone to make a complaint (see section 5.6 of the IOPC Statutory guidance on the police complaints system).

Complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction raised by or on behalf of a member of the public to a police force. A complaint does not have to be made in writing and does not have to state explicitly that it is a complaint.

Complaint case

A complaint may involve more than one allegation. The allegation/s may be made by one or more complainants, against one or more persons serving with the police. ‘Complaint case’ refers to all the allegations and complainants connected with a complaint.

Directed investigation

An investigation conducted by the appropriate authority under the direction and control of the IOPC. The IOPC directs the investigation by appointing an investigator and setting out its scope and investigative strategy. The IOPC controls the investigation by reviewing the policy books, confirming the investigation has met the terms of reference and making the decisions at the end of the case.

Independent investigation

An investigation carried out by IOPC staff (Paragraph 19, Schedule 3, Police Reform Act 2002).

An independent investigation is often used for the most serious incidents and/or those with the greatest public interest. For example, incidents that cause the greatest level of public concern, have a high potential to impact on communities, or have serious implications for the reputation of the police service.

Local investigation

An investigation carried out by the appropriate authority on its own behalf (Paragraph 16, Schedule 3, Police Reform Act 2002).

Local policing body

The body responsible for all policing in their area. It holds the chief constable and the force to account. This is a collective term for:

• Police and Crime Commissioners
• the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (for the Metropolitan Police Service district)
• the Common Council (for the City of London police area) (Section 101, Police Act 1996)

Reflective practice review process (RPRP)

This focuses on putting an issue right and preventing it from happening again by encouraging those involved to reflect on their actions and learn from them. It is not a disciplinary process or a disciplinary outcome.

Review

Where a complaint has been recorded under Schedule 3 to the Police Reform Act 2002, the complainant has a right to apply for a review of the outcome of the complaint. The review will consider whether the outcome of the handling of the complaint is reasonable and proportionate. It will uphold the review where the relevant review body finds that the outcome of the complaint is not reasonable and proportionate. This applies whether the complaint has been investigated or handled in another way.

Special procedures

Special procedures only apply to investigations of complaints about a member of a police force or a special constable. In the case of any other person, the investigator must adhere to the relevant policies and procedures for investigating allegations of any form of misconduct.

Investigators must apply special procedures:

• in a complaint investigation, when there is an indication a person being investigated may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner that would justify disciplinary proceedings
• in all investigations into recordable conduct matters (Paragraph 19A, Schedule 3, Police Reform Act 2002)

Unsatisfactory performance procedure (UPP)

A series of steps used to improve someone’s performance. It is used when a person was unable or failed to perform their role to a satisfactory level but did not breach the Standards of Professional Behaviour.

(1) The Office for National Statistics describes these as ‘a series of statistics that are in a testing phase and not yet fully developed.’

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