Police complaints and discipline The complaints system
The police complaints system is the mechanism by which the public may raise their concerns about the service they receive from their police force. The operation of the complaints system and the outcomes it achieves play an important role in ensuring that the police continue to exercise their powers fairly and legitimately in the eyes of the public.
	The IPCC oversees the whole of the police complaints system and it has a statutory duty to ensure that public confidence is established and maintained in the police complaints system.
	Once a member of the public makes an allegation about someone serving with the police (the allegation may be raised with the force, the PCC or the IPCC), the force must take a decision about whether the allegation should be recorded as a complaint. Once a complaint is recorded by the police force, efforts are made to resolve the allegation raised by the member of public, either by local resolution, a local investigation or by referring to the IPCC for an investigation. If a member of the public is unhappy with the way their complaint has been handled, the system has a series of appeal points which allows them to challenge a decision. The appeal is usually dealt with by the chief constable or the IPCC depending on the circumstances. More detail on the complaints process is provided in annex D.
	Police forces must refer certain complaints and incidents to the IPCC – for example, an allegation that an officer has seriously assaulted someone or committed a serious sexual offence, or if someone has died or been seriously injured following direct or indirect contact with the police.
	A total of 37,105 complaints were recorded during 2014/159. This was a 6% increase compared to 2013/14 and represents a 62% increase since 2004/05.
	It took an average of 110 working days to finalise complaint cases in 2014/15, with the average time varying across police forces from 52 to 205 working days10.
	35% of people lack confidence in the ability of the police to deal with their complaint fairly (Public Confidence in the Police Complaints System, 2014, page 22) and 84% of people are not satisfied with how their complaint is handled (Crime Survey for England and Wales 2015/16 - table S28)
	In 2014/15, 40% of appeals to the IPCC against decisions taken by police forces were upheld11 (up from 30% in 2010/1112).