Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is for making a complaint about a police officer without that complaint being referred to the local force.

Members of the public can use the police complaints system to complain directly to the police force, or via the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) online form on its website which also explains the process.

The law provides for the most serious and sensitive matters, including allegations of assaults or serious corruption, to be referred directly to the IOPC. Since the Government’s reforms in February 2020, the IOPC has powers to initiate an investigation without having to wait for, or ‘call in’ a referral from the force itself. The IOPC has discretion to decide what matters it investigates and which it may direct the police to investigate or refer to the force to handle locally. All complaints have the right to a review to either the relevant Police and Crime Commissioner or the IOPC if they are dissatisfied.

Police officers are under a legal duty to report wrongdoing by fellow officers. They can do so via their own Professional Standards Department. An officer or former officer can also report concerns about actions of those within the police force with which they are serving or served by contacting the IOPC either via its dedicated report hotline or in writing. It is for the IOPC to decide how such reports are dealt with and which matters it investigates at the discretion of the Director General.