Complaints about Local Policing Practice

If you are not happy with the way the police are carrying out their responsibilities in your area, for example, if you think that their priorities are wrong or that they are unfairly treating certain sections of the community, then you should be able to talk to a community consultative group set up by your local Police Authority. Almost all Police Authorities have set up a number of consultative groups or committees in their areas. The members are appointed by the Police Authority and will usually include a combination of members from the Police Authority, the local authority and community representatives. It should be noted that the committees are merely consultative in function and have no power actually to change police practice. They function as a forum for the police to meet the public, not a mechanism for investigating or rectifying complaints.

If you have a complaint about police policy or practice, which is not a matter of the conduct of individual police officers and therefore cannot be dealt with through the IPCC procedure, you can write to the Chief Constable of the police force which you wish to complain about setting out your complaint. If the matter is nor resolved to your satisfaction, your only remedy is by way of judicial review.