Annex D - Summary of the complaints system
Police complaints procedures are laid down under Part 2 of the 2002 Act to ensure that police officers and staff are fully answerable for their actions. The Act also sets out the role of the IPCC.
Who can complain?
A complaint may be made by any of the following:
- An individual to whom the conduct took place;
- A member of the public indirectly affected by the conduct;
- A member of the public who witnessed the conduct;
- A person acting on behalf of someone who falls within the above.
Officers and staff cannot make complaints about individuals in the same force. Instead these are addressed by internal force grievance processes.
Categories of complaints
When a complaint is received by a force, a recording decision is made (see 'Appeal Rights'). If the force deems the issue comes under the definition provided for in the 2002 Act it is recorded as a complaint. The current definition defines a complaint in terms of a complaint about the conduct of a person serving with the police.
If the complaint relates to an operational, organisational or management decisions then the complaint can be categorised as a 'direction and control' complaint. These are handled in the same way as normal complaints but do not have an appeal right.
Types of handling
When the force receives a complaint, they can, if they deem it necessary or if it meets the mandatory referral criteria, refer a case to the IPCC for its assessment. If a complaint alleges death or serious injury relating to police contact, then this comes under the mandatory referral criteria and must be referred by the force to the IPCC.
A case handled by the force can be categorised as suitable for local resolution. This means that the case is handled locally and that the issues are not serious enough to require full investigation. If the force deems that the complaint warrants it, they may decide to initiate a local investigation. If a complaint meets certain criteria, they may also disapply the legislation and take whatever action they choose in regards to the complaint. This will usually be to take no further action.
If the IPCC decides to take on a case after it has been referred, they have three options. They can take on the full investigation themselves; they can take on the management of the investigation; or they can supervise the investigation. A supervised investigation sees the force investigate within prescribed terms of reference set by the IPCC, while a managed investigation gives the IPCC greater "direction and control" over the investigation.
Appeal rights
There are currently five rights of appeal. An appeal may be bought against a decision not to record a complaint, against a decision to disapply the complaint (that is, to proceed no further beyond recording it), against the outcome of any complaint handled by local resolution, against a decision to discontinue an investigation into a complaint, and against various factors in relation to the conducting of an investigation into a complaint.
