Make a complaint

How to make a complaint

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the service you receive from us, there are a number of ways you can make a complaint:

• Go into any police station and ask for your complaint to be recorded
• Contact any police station or our Headquarters at Middlemoor in Exeter by phone, email or post (visit Contact us for more details)
• Contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau, Racial Equality Council, Neighbourhood Warden, Youth Offending Team or Probation Service, all of whom can provide information
• Contact a solicitor or your MP and ask them to make a complaint for you
• Nominate a person to act on your behalf (they must have your written consent)
• Write to the Chief Constable or to Devon and Cornwall Police Authority
• Contact the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) at:

80 High Holborn
London WC1V 6BH
Tel: 08453 002002
Email: enquiries@ipcc.gsi.gov.uk
Web site: ipcc.gov.uk

How your complaint will be dealt with

In the first instance, your complaint will be dealt with by our Professional Standards Department, which is appointed by the Chief Constable to review complaints against police employees.

This department will decide whether or not to record the complaint under the Police Reform Act of 2002. If the Professional Standards Department decide not to record your complaint, you may be able to appeal against this decision to the IPCC.

If the complaint is recorded, it can be resolved in a number of different ways:

• Local Resolution
  This is a simple and flexible way to resolve a complaint. Your complaint can only be dealt with by Local Resolution if you agree to it. If you decide to have your complaint dealt with by Local Resolution, a process to resolve your complaint will be agreed between you and the police. The Local Resolution of your complaint cannot lead to disciplinary proceedings against an individual police officer or member or staff.

• Police investigation
  If your complaint is not suitable for Local Resolution or you do not agree to have your complaint resolved through Local Resolution, someone will be appointed to investigate your complaint. The investigator will tell you how your complaint will be investigated, what co-operation they require from you, how a decision will be reached and what action will be taken at the end of the investigation. You can appeal to the IPCC if you are unhappy with the outcome of the police investigation into your complaint.

If the complaint is more serious, the Professional Standards Department may refer it to the IPCC.  For more details of the types of complaint that are dealt with by the IPCC, and the ways in which they are resolved, visit  http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/index/complaints.htm. Only the most serious complaints are dealt with by the IPCC.