Lack of confidence in how police complaints handled

NEARLY two in five people in the South East are not confident a complaint about police misconduct would be handled fairly, according to a new survey.

A poll for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) showed 39% of respondents were either not very confident, or not at all confident, the police would properly deal with a complaint against the force.Other findings from the survey, by Ipsos Mori, showed that the number of people in the South East who had heard of the IPCC had gone up to 78%, from 68% in 2011, which is notably higher than the average for England and Wales, of 64%.

Across England and Wales a greater proportion of people from ethnic minority communities said they were less likely to complain about the behaviour of police and more likely to fear harassment if they did so.

The majority of the roughly 30,000 complaints made annually about the police are handled by the police itself, rather than by the IPCC, which is a separate statutory body. Dame Anne Owens, the IPCC chair, said: “This survey shows that too many people are still either unsure of how to make a complaint about the police or don’t believe their complaint will be dealt with fairly.

“It is particularly worrying that young people and those from ethnic minorities have lower confidence in the complaints system.”

She said the IPCC would undertake a programme of activity on engagement with black and minority ethnic communities, as young people, to awareness.

This will run alongside new powers which will compel forces to respond formally and publicly to IPCC recommendations following investigations. well as increase