Complaints against Warwickshire Police fall by a third

Complaints made against Warwickshire Police have fallen by more than a third in the past two years, one of the biggest drops in the country.*

The number of allegations included in these complaints has fallen by just under a third in the same time period, also one of the biggest drops in the country.**

In 2018/19, there were 274 complaints made to Warwickshire Police, down from 328 in 2017/18 and 415 in 2016/17. In these complaints, 333 allegations were made, down from 394 in 2017/18 and 489 in 2016/17.

The force received 189 complaints per 1000 members of staff, one of the lowest levels in the country.***

Superintendent Warren Little, head of the Warwickshire Police Professional Standards Department, puts the reduction down to complaints being better managed through service recovery and the hard work of staff in ensuring they deliver the best outcomes for local people.

Superintendent Little said: “Complaints and other forms of feedback are a vital way for our communities to hold us to account and of ensuring we are providing the highest levels of service to our communities. They also allow us to learn from the times we haven’t delivered the level of service we expect and ensure improvements are put in place.

“We welcome the drop in the number of complaints; it is testament to the hard work of officers and staff, and shows that local people have confidence in their police force.

“The reduction in complaints has also been helped by the use of service recovery. This process is where we try to address people’s concerns before they become full complaints. Quite often, people with concerns just want reassurance their incident is being looked into and we can quickly put their minds at ease.

“This process means we are being more responsive to the concerns of our local community and it frees up time for officers to focus on other priorities.

“With the recent additional investment in frontline policing we anticipate we will continue to improve the service we offer to local people.”

Notes:

Data taken from - https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/statistics/complaints_statistics_2018_19.pdf

*The drop in complaints between 2016/17 and 2018/19 fell from 415 to 274 (a drop of 34%), the fourth biggest drop in the country out of 44 forces.

**The number of allegations included in complaints between 2016/17 and 2018/19 fell from 489 to 333 (a drop of 32%), the fourth biggest drop in the country.

***In 2018/19, there were 189 complaints made per 1000 member of staff, the fifth lowest in the country.

 

Posted by Sam Cook, Corporate Communications