Neglect of duty and incivility top police complaints

Nearly half of complaints against the police are allegations of neglect or failure of duty and incivility, according to statistics published by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) today (14 November).

The statistics on complaints against the police in England and Wales during 2006/07 show neglect or failure of duty and incivility accounted for 45% of recorded allegations.

A total of 28,998 complaint cases were recorded during the year, an increase of 2,730 on the previous year. This represents an increase of 10% on the previous year (a total rise of 83% since 1 April 2004 when the new complaints system came into force). Almost half of these were dealt with by local resolution.

Commenting on the statistics, Nick Hardwick, IPCC Chair, said:

"This is the third year that the total number of complaints recorded against the police has risen. It appears that the large rises in complaints which we initially saw following the introduction of the new complaints system have now slowed and that the picture is stabilising.

"Forces and police authorities need to address the various categories of complaints more effectively. What are sometimes perceived as relatively minor matters such as incivility and neglect of duty account for almost half of all allegations against police personnel.

They concern such things as rudeness, not keeping someone informed about a case as promised, and failing to investigate someone's crime properly. But for the law abiding citizen, their contact with the police, whether real or perceived, can have a profound impact on their confidence in the police service as a whole. These types of complaints can often be avoided and police forces need to look into these police-public encounters and examine if they can reduce these kinds of complaint."

Complaint figures

A complaint case may consist of one or more allegations. A total of

45,883 allegations were recorded in 2006/07. This is an increase of more than 5,000 (14%) on 2005/06.

The categories with the largest proportion of allegations recorded

were:

* 'Other neglect or failure' in duty - almost a quarter (24%)

* 'Incivility, impoliteness and intolerance' - one-fifth (21%)

* 'Other assault' (15%).

The largest increases in allegations were:

* 'Other neglect or failure in duty' (an increase of 1,745

allegations)

* 'Incivility, impoliteness and intolerance' (an increase of 1,317

allegations)

* 'Breach of Code C PACE on detention, treatment, questioning' (an increase of 398 allegations)

The number of allegations per 1,000 officers has increased from a figure of 256 in 2005/06 to 291 in 2006/07.

Outcome of complaints

A total of 41,584 individual allegations were completed in 2006/07.

This figure includes allegations recorded in previous years and represents an increase of 9% (on 2005/06) in the actual number of allegations which were closed. The closed complaints were dealt with in the following ways:

* 47% by local resolution

* 30% by an investigation

* 10% were dispensed with from the requirement to be investigated

* 12% were withdrawn by the complainant.

Of those formally investigated nearly nine out of 10 (89%) were found to be unsubstantiated and one in ten (11%) substantiated.

One of the major changes since the Police Reform Act 2002 came into effect has been the large rise in allegations dealt with through local resolution. The figures for 2006/07 show that this increase has been sustained with nearly half of allegations dealt with this way.

Appeals to the IPCC

The Independent Police Complaints Commission upheld one in five appeals about police complaints last year. More than 700 of the 2,996 valid appeals (24%) were upheld fully or partially.

Reasons for the rises

There is no single explanation for the rise in complaints and reasons may differ from force to force. However, nationally, the key drivers for the increases are likely to be:

* Increased awareness and accessibility

* The improved recording of complaints

* The availability of the IPCC Telephone Complaints Centre

Complainants

In 2006/07, 29,637 people made complaints, an increase of 2,757 on the previous year (10%) and gives a rate of approximately one complainant per complaint case.

The vast majority of complainants were those directly affected by the action of the police (88%). Since 2004 those adversely affected by an incident, witnesses and representatives have been allowed to make complaints. Those adversely affected accounted for 8% of complainants, witnesses to incidents (2%) and representatives (2%).

Just under two thirds (63%) of complainants were male and one third female.

Four per cent of complainants were aged below 17, 18% aged 18 to 29, 19% aged 30-39, 18% aged 40 to 49, 8% aged 50 to 59 and 4% aged over 60. The complainants' ages were unknown in 28% of cases.

Sixty one per cent of complainants were recorded as White, 5% Asian, 7% Black and 2% of another ethnicity. Details on ethnicity were missing in 25% of cases.

Those complained about

A total of 32,574 people working in the police service were subject to a complaint in 2006/07. Of those whose occupational status was identified, police officers were the largest group (93%) compared to police staff including traffic wardens and community support officers (5%), other contracted and staff (1%) and special constables (1%).

Of those subject to a complaint, four in five were male (79%) and one in five was female (20%).

Ethnicity was recorded as unknown for 6% of those subject to a complaint. Where recorded, 90% were White, 2% Asian, 1% Black and 1% other.

Other organisations

The IPCC also published statistics on complaints recorded by non-Home Office forces:

* British Transport Police (324 complaints)

* Ministry of Defence Police (33 complaints)

* Civil Nuclear Constabulary (5 complaints)

Following the extension to the IPCC's jurisdiction to cover Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) the IPCC has published for the first time statistics on conduct complaints against their personnel:

* HMRC (2,359 complaints)

* SOCA (19 complaints)

Police Complaints: Statistics for England and Wales 2006/07, IPCC, London, ISBN 0-9552083-8-6, ISBN 978-0-9552083-8-6 can be found at on our website at http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/index/resources/research/stats.htm

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Notes to Editors:

The IPCC report covers complaints made about the conduct of officers.

It does not cover complaints made about general standards of policing, operational policies or operational management decisions.

Complaints about these 'direction and control' matters are dealt with separately from those concerning conduct of police personnel and under different procedures, and so are not included in this report.

Local resolution is designed to be a speedy and effective way of handling less serious complaints. It usually involves an Inspector talking to the complainant and the officer involved and seeking to resolve the matter without recourse to a formal investigation.

The IPCC has overall responsibility for the police complaints system.

Since April 2006 it has taken on responsibility for similar, serious complaints against HM Revenue and Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency in England and Wales.

The IPCC has the task of increasing public confidence in the complaint systems and aims to make investigations more open, timely, proportionate and fair.

The 16 Commissioners who run the IPCC guarantee its independence and by law can never have served as police officers. No Commissioner has worked for HM Revenue and Customs. They are supported by more than more than 200 independent IPCC investigators, casework managers and other specialists.

Since April 1 2004 the IPCC has used its powers to begin 171 independent and 533 managed investigations into the most serious complaints against the police. It has set new standards for police forces to improve the way the public's complaints are handled. The Commission also handles appeals by the public about the way their complaint was dealt with by the local force.

The IPCC is committed to getting closer to the communities it serves.

Its Commissioners and staff are based in IPCC regional offices in Cardiff, Coalville, London and Sale plus a sub office in Wakefield