Cop complaints are on the rise

Latest figures covering police forces across England and Wales have been released by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

The national average rise in complaints is 15 per cent.

Some of the increase can be put down to changes to the definition of a ‘complaint’, says the watchdog, which has been broadened beyond an officer’s conduct to include matters relating to operational policing.

The IPCC report said: “However, the increase also suggests people are less satisfied about their contact with the police than in previous years or they are more willing to complain, or both.”

A complaint case may have one of more allegations attached to it. For 2013/14, Beds Police received 353 complaints with 751 allegations . To date, 22 of those allegations have been upheld to date.

Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Trippett said Beds Police had one of the lowest levels of complaints cases recorded, and was consistently in the top 10 for receiving the lowest number of complaints.

Thirty eight per cent of appeals about the way Beds Police handled a complaint were upheld by the IPCC in 2013/14.