Rise in police complaints
CASES of complaints against police patrolling the West Midlands rose by five per cent last year, a new report has revealed.
Independent Police Complaints Commission figures showed there were 1,707 complaint cases in the 12 months to March, totalling 3,013 individual allegations.
That compares to 1,630 complaint cases in the same period the year before.
Nationally, 48,280 individual allegations were made against serving officers.
Six out of ten complaints alleged either neglect of duty, rudeness and intolerance or common assault.
There was a rise of almost a quarter in the number of complaints about stop and search.
Of those West Midlands 1,216 cases investigated last year, only 162 cases were substantiated.
Meanwhile, a total of 365 cases were withdrawn and 1,100 were dealt with locally where officers were able to quickly explain what went wrong without the need for a formal inquiry.
IPCC Chair Nick Hardwick said: “It’s unacceptable that nearly half of all complaints involve neglect or rudeness. There is absolutely no excuse for being rude to the public.
“It is to be hoped that the proportion of complaints that are resolved at a local level will rise again. Use of local resolution is much-more likely to meet public expectations of a swift explanation of what appeared to go wrong.
“A speedy response is often much better for the complainant and the police staff.”
A police spokesman said: “West Midlands Police dealt with 1,084, 894 incidents and almost 2.5 million telephone calls last year.
“Complaints against the force represent a small percentage set against the overall number of incidents and calls dealt with.
“However, West Midlands Police is not complacent and will continue to work closely with the IPCC to ensure all complaints are professionally investigated and that public confidence in the complaints process is maintained.”
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