How to make a complaint
There are a number of ways you can make a complaint:
- Visit the front desk of any police station and advise them that you wish to make a complaint. A police officer or member of staff will speak to you about your complaint and take your details.
- You can write direct to:
- Professional Standards Department, Hampshire Constabulary, Police Headquarters, West Hill, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22 5DB
- Email Professional Standards Department directly: professional.standards@hampshire.pnn.police.uk
- Contact your solicitor or your MP.
- Contact the IPCC at: Independent Police Complaints Commission 90 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6BH. Visit www.ipcc.gov.uk or tel: 0300 020 0096.
- Contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
What information to include in your complaint
When making your complaint you should include information such as:
- What happened
- When it happened
- Who was involved
- What was said or done
- Were there any witnesses
- Was there any damage or injury caused
This will enable your complaint to be dealt with more efficiently. Please also include your full name, date of birth and full address.
How will be complaint be dealt with?
Once your complaint is accepted and recorded as being about the conduct of a police officer or member of police staff, then it will be dealt with with in one of two ways:
Local resolution
Local resolution is an informal approach to resolving complaints. It allows forces to learn lessons and improve the way they do things. Many people prefer their complaint to be dealt with in this way. You cannot have your complaint dealt with using local resolution unless you agree to it.
If you agree to have your complaint addressed through local resolution, a local manager will discuss your complaint with you and draw up an action plan covering the issues you have raised.
If at the end of the local resolution process you are dissatisfied with the process followed, you have a right of appeal to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) . For more information visit the IPCC website: www.ipcc.gov.uk
Local investigation
If your complaint is not suitable for local resolution, or you do not agree to it being dealt with that way, a local investigation will be carried out by a police investigator. The investigator will usually be assigned from your local police area, however more serious complaints will be dealt with by an investigator from the Professional Standards Department.
You will be informed how your complaint will be investigated, what cooperation is required from you, how a decision will be reached and what action will be taken at the end of the investigation. The type of investigation will depend on the nature and seriousness of your complaint and the likely outcome. An investigation might range from telephone enquiries conducted in a few hours to a more extensive process perhaps taking a number of months.
You can appeal to the IPCC if you are unhappy with the outcome of the police investigation in to your complaint.
Appealing against the way the police have handled your complaint
If you have made a complaint against the police and you are not happy with the way it has been handled, you may be able to appeal to the IPCC. The IPCC deals with three types of appeal:
- Appeals against a complaint not being recorded
- Appeals against the local resolution process
- Appeals against the police into your complaint
For more information visit the IPCC's website
The role of the Independent Police Complaints Commission
Complaints about the conduct of people serving with the police can be sent to the IPCC, but the IPCC does not have the power to record complaints. If you complain to the IPCC, it must, by law, forward the complaint back to the force involved for consideration. It can take a number of weeks before a complaint is forwarded to the relevant force. In order to have your complaint dealt with as quickly as possible, we advise you to complain to Hampshire Constabulary.
The IPCC also investigates the most serious complaints and allegations of misconduct against the police in England and Wales. These complaints are referred to the IPCC by police forces. The IPCC may decide to investigate an incident using its own investigators (an independent investigator). Alternatively, it can manage or supervise a police investigation into the matter. The IPCC will only conduct independant investigations into incidents that cause the greatest level of public concern - for example, deaths in, or following police custody.
