The Complaints Process

Everyone at Humberside Police works hard to provide a high quality of service for the public but there will be occasions when we don't meet the expectations of the community we serve.

Sometimes a complaint will be about an individual member of staff. On other occasions it will be about the organisation itself, the service we deliver or a separate policing issue.

Humberside Police is keen to address any concerns raised by members of the public whatever the nature of the complaint and any outcomes or recommendations will be used to improve our overall quality of service.

So how do I make a complaint?

The links below are here to guide you through the process of making a complaint about Humberside Police. Please click on the relevant question to find out more information:

Making a complaint about the conduct of police officers and police staff.
Who can make a complaint?
How do I make a complaint?
What if my complaint is not about the conduct of an individual?
What should my complaint say?
Who looks after the complaint process?
How will my complaint be resolved?
So what is local resolution?
How do I find out what’s happening with an ongoing complaint investigation?
What will happen when the investigation is finished?
Do I have a right of appeal?
Can I get an old complaint re-investigated?

Making a complaint about the conduct of police officers and police staff

Police officers and police staff must act within the law and abide by strict codes of conduct called the Standards of Professional Behaviour (for police officers) and the Standards of Professional Behaviour for Police Staff. Should you believe a police officer or police staff member has acted improperly you may make a formal complaint against him or her. The formal complaints procedure is dictated by statute (Police Reform Act 2002 and Police Conduct Regulations 2008) and overseen by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Who can make a complaint?

You can make a complaint about a police officer of any rank or other representatives of the police including support staff, special constables and community support officers if you are a member of the public who:

Claims to be the person to whom the conduct took place. Conduct matters could include a police officer or member of police staff being rude to you or using excessive force. It could also include unlawful arrest or an abuse of your rights.
Claims to have witnessed the conduct. This will usually be an eyewitness present at the incident.
Claims to have been adversely affected by the conduct. This includes experiencing distress, inconvenience, loss or damage or being put in danger or at risk. This might apply, for example, to other people physically present at an incident mainly involving another party, or to the parent of a child arrested by the police
Is acting on behalf of a person falling into any of the three categories above. Please note that if you would like someone to make a complaint on your behalf, you must give them your consent in writing unless they are from a body such as a Citizens Advice Bureau.

How do I make a complaint?

You can make a complaint about a police officer of any rank or other representatives of the police including support staff, special constables and community support officers by any of the following methods. Whatever the route, all complaints, by law, must be recorded by the police force itself.

If you want to make a complaint you can:

Go into any police station and ask for your complaint to be recorded.
Contact Humberside Police via phone, email our Professional Standards Branch or by post to Professional Standards Branch, Police Headquarters, Priory Road, Hull HU5 5SF.
Contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau, Racial Equality Council, Neighbourhood Warden, Youth Offending Team or Probation Service, all of whom can provide information.
Contact a solicitor or your MP and ask them to make a complaint for you.
Nominate a person to act on your behalf (they must have your written consent).
Write to the Chief Constable or Commissioner of the police service concerned, or to the police authority.
Contact the Independent Police Complaints Commission at:
90 High Holborn
London, WC1V 6BH
Tel: 08453 002 002 (local rate)

Please note the IPCC will refer all complaints (subject to consent) back to the force that the complaint refers to for investigation. The IPCC will not investigate a complaint just because the complaint is made to them. Humberside Police would prefer all complaints to be made direct to the force as this enables us to provide a more efficient response. Making a complaint via the IPCC rather than direct to Humberside Police is likely to lengthen the time it takes to record the complaint.

Once you have made your complaint a record will be made containing the details of your complaint such as what happened, where the incident happened and who was involved.

There are a number of leaflets available which are designed to inform you about the work of the IPCC and support you through the complaints process.

As well as downloading the leaflets from these pages, you can also ask for a leaflet at any police station or contact the IPCC and ask for one to be sent to you one in the post.

Deaf, deafened or hard of hearing

The IPCC provide information in a BSL video on their website: http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/en/Pages/accessibility_video.aspx

What if my complaint is not about the conduct of an individual?

A complaint where there is no issue of individual conduct of a member of the police service, but is wholly about force policy, management, operational tactics, deployment of resources, quality of service etc is defined as a Direction and Control complaint and sits outside the remit of the Police Reform Act 2002. Examples include complaints or enquiries about organisational matters, service delivery, call handling, crime recording, criminal justice issues or other operational policing or policy issues. Complaints of this nature can still be made through any of the methods previously mentioned.

What should my complaint say?

As well as your name, address and contact details, the main things that your complaint should cover are:

What happened.
When it happened.
Who was involved.
What was said or done.
Whether there were any witnesses other than yourself and the person serving with the police.
Where the witnesses can be contacted, if known.
Details of any damage or injury which took place.

Who looks after the complaint process?

The Police Reform Act 2002 governs how complaints against police staff should be dealt with. This act created the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), replacing the previous Police Complaints Authority.

The police record all complaints and each force has a Professional Standards Department (PSD) set up to receive and investigate complaints.

Complaints about the conduct of an individual member of Humberside Police should be made to our Professional Standards Branch, which operates independently from the rest of the force. The department is located at the following address:

Professional Standards Branch
Humberside Police
Police Headquarters
Priory Road
Kingston upon Hull
HU5 5SF

Certain complaints of a serious nature will actually be investigated or supervised by the IPCC.

How will my complaint be resolved?

Most complaints will be resolved at a local level through a process called local resolution.

Allegations of rudeness, for example, are unlikely to be the subject of a full investigation, but we will investigate other complaints by means of a proportionate investigation or refer them to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

So what is local resolution?

Many complaints can be resolved quickly and satisfactorily at a local level by supervisor officers working in the community.

Local resolution is intended to be quick and flexible, providing the opportunity to explain your concerns to the police and receive an adequate response.

You will be asked to give your consent to the use of local resolution and once this has been given we will agree an action plan with you aimed at resolving your complaint as quickly as possible.

How do I find out what’s happening with an ongoing complaint investigation?

Whether the Police or the IPCC is investigating your complaint you will be informed about:

How your complaint will be investigated.
What co-operation they require from you.
How a decision will be reached.
The action that may be taken at the conclusion of an investigation.

The investigator will also agree with you how often and by which method you would like to be kept informed.

What will happen when the investigation is finished?

At the end of the investigation we will inform you of the conclusions in the form of a report, which could be:

Not enough evidence to uphold your complaint. This does not mean that you have not been believed, rather that there is insufficient evidence to prove or disprove the allegation(s) made.
We may decide to improve or amend our procedures in response to a complaint.
We may take formal disciplinary or other management action against a member of staff.
We may refer your case to the Crown Prosecution Service for advice on criminal prosecution.

Do I have a right of appeal?

You may have a right of appeal to the Independent Police Complaints Commission if:

We have not recorded your complaint.
We have not made a decision whether to record your complaint.
We have not informed you of our decision not to record your complaint.
You believe that local resolution procedures have not been carried out properly.
You disagree with the action we propose to take as a result of the investigation.
You have not been provided with adequate information about the findings of the investigation.
You are not satisfied with the outcome of the Police investigation.

More information can be obtained by selecting one of the links below: