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A member of the public who considers that a police officer or member of police staff has behaved incorrectly or unfairly has the right to make a complaint. If you make a complaint we will decide whether to record it in accordance with the requirements of the Police Reform Act 2002. If we decide not to record it and you disagree you can appeal to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

We take all complaints seriously, our aim is to deal with them to your satisfaction and all are assessed as to gravity. Dependent upon the nature of your allegations, your complaint may be suitable for Local Resolution; most people prefer their complaint to be dealt with in this way and if this applies in your case a local manager will discuss the options available and will draw up an action plan covering the issues which you have raised and how they will be dealt with, together with how and when you would like to be contacted again. All of this is subject to your consent. If you do not consider that the agreed procedure has been followed you can appeal to the IPCC

Other cases may need to be investigated and we will decide whether this should be carried out by a local manager or by a specialist investigator from the Professional Standards Department. Your complaint will be investigated impartially and proportionately. The person investigating will make contact with you, discuss your complaint and agree with you how and when you would like to be contacted. We aim to deal with the matter as quickly as possible but the investigation may be delayed if your complaint is related to a prosecution; if this applies in your case you will be informed. If you do not agree with the outcome of the investigation you can appeal to the IPCC.

Copies of the Independent Police Complaints Commission’s booklet How to make a complaint against the police are available at all police stations in Warwickshire. Further information is available on the IPCC website at: http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/index/complaints.htm and you can find out more about Local Resolution at: www.ipcc.gov.uk/localresolution

Organisational complaints

Some complaints may be about the way we do things as an organisation, rather than the conduct of any individual; we call these direction and control matters. They include issues such as:

• Force policies
• Organisational decisions
• General policing standards in the force
• Operational decisions

Public confidence in the police service is of great importance to the Warwickshire Police and its Police Authority; an effective and efficient local system for the recording and handling of complaints regarding direction and control is one of the ways in which we can maintain and improve this trust and confidence. A complaint can be made by any member of the public who is dissatisfied with the delivery of a policing service, whether they reside in the police area, are visiting it or passing through or have made contact with the police from outside the area.

In some instances dealing with such a complaint may involve an explanation of the purpose of our policy or the reason for the decision to deal with an issue in a particular way. In other cases we may need to review the need to change our policies and procedures, consider any other relevant factors which need to be taken into account in making future operational decisions and see what lessons can be learned.

In every instance we will give you feedback, either verbally or in writing, in relation to the issues raised and to our findings.