Police Complaints

You can make a complaint about a police officer's conduct in several ways:

• To the police force: Contact the Professional Standards Department (PSD) of the relevant force directly. Most forces have an online complaint form and a postal address for complaints. Complaints can also be made in person at a police station.
• To the IOPC: You can also submit a complaint directly to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which will then forward it to the relevant force (unless it falls within the IOPC's direct investigation criteria).
• Via a solicitor or representative: You can authorise a solicitor, Citizens Advice, or another representative to make the complaint on your behalf.

Complaints should be in writing where possible. Include the date, time, and location of the incident; the officers involved (names, warrant numbers, or descriptions); and a clear account of what happened. Submit complaints as soon as possible and within 12 months of the incident.

Police complaints are handled at different levels depending on their seriousness:

• Local resolution: Less serious complaints may be resolved informally through local resolution — a meeting, an explanation, or an apology from the officer concerned.
• Local investigation: More serious complaints are investigated by the force's Professional Standards Department. They will interview the officer(s) involved, review any evidence (CCTV, body camera footage, witness statements), and report their findings.
• IOPC investigation: The most serious complaints — particularly those involving deaths, serious injury, serious corruption, or very senior officers — are referred to the IOPC for independent investigation.

You should receive updates on the progress of your complaint and be informed of the outcome.

If you are unhappy with how your complaint was handled by the police force — for example, you believe the investigation was inadequate, the findings were wrong, or you were not treated fairly during the process — you can request a review by the IOPC.

You must request a review within 28 days of receiving the outcome of your complaint. The IOPC can uphold the review, direct the force to take specific action, or substitute its own finding for the force's decision in some cases.

Independent police complaints advocacy services are available in some areas to support complainants through the process, particularly for those from marginalised communities or where the complaint involves serious police misconduct. Contact organisations such as Inquest (for deaths involving the police) or Liberty (for civil liberties issues) for specialist support.

Police complaints involve a specific statutory framework under the Police Reform Act 2002 and the Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2020. Understanding how the system works — and your rights within it — gives you the best chance of a thorough investigation and an appropriate outcome.

Mandatory referrals to the IOPC: Certain categories of complaint must be referred to the IOPC by the police force, regardless of whether you request a review. These mandatory referral categories include: deaths or serious injuries following police contact; allegations of serious corruption; allegations of discrimination on grounds of a protected characteristic that amount to a serious abuse of power; serious assaults by police officers; and certain other serious conduct matters. If your complaint falls into one of these categories and the force has not referred it to the IOPC, you can request referral directly or raise the failure with the IOPC. You can contact the IOPC at policeconduct.gov.uk.

The Equality Act 2010 and discriminatory policing: The police are subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, which requires them to have due regard to: eliminating unlawful discrimination; advancing equality of opportunity; and fostering good relations between different groups. If you believe you were stopped and searched, arrested, treated harshly, or subject to excessive force because of a protected characteristic — including race, religion, disability, or sexual orientation — this is a legitimate ground for a police complaint that must be investigated under the mandatory referral framework. Discriminatory conduct by a police officer can also be reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

Body-worn video and evidence: Most frontline police officers now wear body-worn video cameras. Request footage relevant to your complaint as early as possible — retention periods are typically 31 days for standard footage, though footage involved in an active complaint should be preserved automatically. If you believe footage has been deleted or is being withheld improperly, raise this explicitly in your complaint. CCTV from public or private premises near the incident should also be obtained quickly, as it may be overwritten within days.

Building your complaint file: For a police complaint to be investigated thoroughly, your evidence file should include: a detailed written account of what happened (written as close to the incident as possible while your memory is fresh, with exact times, locations, officer descriptions, and warrant numbers if known); medical evidence of any injuries sustained; witness contact details; photographs of any injuries or damage; body-worn video requests made promptly; CCTV obtained where possible; and records of any subsequent contact with the police about the matter. If the complaint relates to a stop and search, obtain your stop and search record from the force — this is a legal right under Code A of PACE and the record should include the officer's grounds and the outcome.