‘No cause for concern’ over police complaints
More than 200 complaints against Sussex Police have been reviewed by the office of the Police & Crime Commissioner over the past 12 months.
The figures were shared during a meeting of the Sussex Police and Crime Panel on Friday, March 22.
Members were told that, between March 1, 2023, and February 29, 2024, the office received 210 requests for reviews following complaints made about the force.
Out of those, six were found not to be valid.
Of the remaining 204, 149 were not upheld, 24 were upheld, and 37 are still being looked into.
Commissioner Katy Bourne said she saw no cause for concern with the figures.
While the number of reviews her office was asked to carry out had increased, she said the amount being upheld was ‘consistent with national rates’.
She added: “I am very confident that it is a robust process.
“Not every member of the public that complains is going to be happy with the outcome anyway, so they will often keep going.”
The reviews are carried out if a member of the public is unhappy with the outcome of a complaint lodged with Sussex Police.
Their complaint would originally have been looked at by the force’s Professional Standards Department but, if the complainant was not happy with the findings, they could then turn to the office of the Commissioner.
Of the 24 reviews upheld, 14 resulted in apologies to the complainants on behalf of Sussex Police.
Another 14 complaints were returned to the force because they had not been addressed in their entirety and/or required further explanation.
Thirteen were returned to the Professional Standards Department for reconsideration and/or reinvestigation.
And nine recommendations were made for further training and learning to be undertaken by officers.
Mrs Bourne reported that every recommendation made by her office following the reviews had been fully accepted by the standards team and implemented by the force.