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Who can make a complaint?

Anybody who feels they were treated badly by the police has a right to report their treatment. You can complain if police actions caused distress, inconvenience, loss or damage, or put you in danger or at risk. 

The police are required to follow standards of professional behaviour that include:

• treating you with respect
• behaving honestly and with integrity
• never abusing their power

Because of that, you can complain about any police actions that are not in line with those standards.

Some things you can complain about include:

• rudeness
• use of excessive force
• illegal arrest

You can also complain if you were not actually the victim, but were present when somebody else was treated badly by police. However, this does not include watching an incident on television or reading about it in the media.

How to complain about the police

You can complain directly to any police force by phone, email, post, fax, or by visiting a police station in person.

If you prefer, you can contact the Citizens Advice Bureau, a private solicitor (who may charge for their services) or your MP. They can all make a complaint on your behalf.

You can also contact the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).  It is an independent organisation that oversees complaints about the police, and makes sure that they are handled fairly.

You can contact the IPCC using the information below: 

Independent Police Complaints Commission
90 High Holborn
London WC1V 6BH
Phone: 08453 002 002
Email: enquiries@ipcc.gov.uk

Whoever you complain to, by law, must give your report to the police force in question. That force will decide whether or not any abuse occurred. Most complaints are handled by the police force’s professional standards departments.

If you need advice and support about the police complaints process, you can also visit any of the groups linked below.

• Independent Police Complaints Commission Opens new window

• Contact the Citizens Advice Bureau Opens new window

• What is a Youth Offending Team? Opens new window

• Commission for Racial Equality Opens new window

What your complaint should include

You will need to provide detailed information so the complaint can be investigated thoroughly.

When you contact the police or the IPCC, you will need to describe the following in detail:

• which police force your complaint is about
• what happened and when
• who was involved – ideally the identity of the victim and the police officer
• what was said or done
• the names of any witnesses you recognised
• evidence of any damage or injury resulting from the misconduct
• your contact details – name, address, telephone number, email address

Your testimony may be required during the investigation, and you’ll need to cooperate if you want the complaint to be thoroughly looked into.

The complaint review process

The complaint will be reviewed by the police force involved, which will decide whether it should be ‘recorded’ (registered as an official complaint).

You have the right to appeal to the IPCC if the police decide not to record your complaint.

Serious complaints, such as an allegation that somebody's life was in danger, are reported to the IPCC immediately, where they are investigated by senior officers.

Results of the investigation

The investigation can be handled in several ways. If the issue is relatively minor, such as an allegation that a police officer was rude to you, an official investigation may not be needed – instead you might receive an apology or explanation.

If the complaints are more serious any of the following may happen:

• the Crown Prosecution Service may decide to bring criminal charges against the officer
• the officer may face disciplinary hearings
• the Crown Prosecution Service may issue the officer with a verbal or written warning

You will be kept up-to-date with the progress of the investigation. There is no fixed time-frame for complaints processing; each case is different.

If you want to appeal

The IPCC only investigates the most serious complaints. However, if you feel your complaint has been poorly handled by the police, and you appeal, the IPCC will consider your case, and it can tell the police to change their decision.

All decisions made by the IPCC are final and can only be overturned through the courts. If you are unhappy with the IPCC’s decision following their investigation, you will need to seek independent legal advice on how to proceed. 

You should not contact the Home Office or its ministers as they have no role in the police complaints and have no power to intervene in the IPCC investigations.

Complaints about a police operation or policy

Complaints about a specific police operation or a police policy are dealt with under a separate system, and those complaints should be directed at the chief constable or commissioner of the force concerned, or the police authority.

They, along with the chief constable, are responsible for their individual force’s priorities and policies.

You can find out who to contact at the police authority on the Association of Police Authorities website.

• Association of Police Authorities Opens new window