FreeB.E.A.G.L.E.S.: Legal Advice for Activists (v4)

Many people are perhaps justifiably cynical about the police’s methods of dealing with complaints. After all, the investigation is usually conducted by the police themselves, rather than an independent body. But there are many good reasons for complaining. It’s a simple procedure and will only take at most a few hours of your time. By contrast it will cost the police force being investigated a relatively large amount of time and money. If formal complaint proceedings are continually brought against the same police officers these will become a major headache to the police forces in question. All complaints have to be recorded by the police force, and any complaints that are upheld will adversely affect the police force’s statistics.

Complaints may directly affect the way in which police behave on demos. If the police act unlawfully or discriminately towards you and you take no action, then they will think they can get away with it and continue to abuse the rights of other activists in the future. But if they regularly receive complaints about their behaviour and find themselves under constant investigation then they may have to reconsider their actions.

Even if your complaint is not upheld, it could lead to a complete change in policy by the police in their attitude to activists.

23.2 The New Independent Police Complaints Commission

On 1st April 2004, the new Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) replaced the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) as the body responsible for overseeing complaints against the police. The change came about as a result of calls for greater openness and an independent element in the investigation of police complaints. The main differences in the new procedure are that the IPCC can actively initiate and manage police investigations and can carry out the most serious investigations itself.

There is a duty of disclosure on the police, whereby they have to keep the complainant informed about an investigation. It is uncertain at this stage whether this will include details of witness statements or other primary evidence, but it will certainly an improvement on the previous situation.

Also a number of appeals are now available to the complainant. These are appeals:

All these reforms are designed to instill greater public confidence in the complaints procedure. Only time will tell if the reforms do in fact lead to greater accountability. Contact details for the IPCC are:

23.3 The Complaints Procedure

If you wish to make a complaint to the police you can write either directly to the IPCC or to the Chief Constable of the relevant police force. In all but the most serious cases, complaints will be handled by the police themselves, and if you write to the IPCC they will forward the complaint to the police with your consent. The complaint will then be investigated by the actual police force in question. When the investigation is complete the investigating officer (IO) will decide what action if any to take. This could include disciplinary action against the police officer concerned or even referring the case to the Crown Prosecution Service if there is enough evidence for a criminal prosecution.

23.4 Local Resolution or Formal Investigation

Local resolution is the new name for what used to be called “informal resolution”. Under the old rules, you could ask for an informal investigation and if were still not happy you could insist on a formal one as well. Under the new law you can still insist on a formal investigation, but if you consent to local resolution you cannot then insist on a formal investigation if you are unhappy with the outcome. You cannot appeal against a local resolution decision unless the police have failed to follow the correct procedure.

If it seems to the Chief Constable that your complaint is suitable for informal resolution then he is under a duty to try to resolve the matter in this way and will appoint an officer within his force to do so. This would apply to relatively trivial complaints such as rudeness where the police officer’s conduct is not alleged to be of a criminal nature. The police are likely to want to resolve complaints informally wherever possible, as this is the most cost effective way to deal with it and reduces the burden on police resources. An example of an local resolution would be where the chief constable verbally apologises or offers reassurance that there will be no repeat of the behaviour.

However, it is your right by law to insist on a formal investigation whatever the nature of the complaint.

Therefore if you state in your initial letter to the IPCC that you do not wish to have the matter resolved by local resolution then no attempt should be made to resolve it informally.

We would normally advise that you opt for a formal investigation. This will ensure that your complaint is investigated as thoroughly as the law allows. And you will have the right of appeal if you are unhappy with the outcome. There will be times however where local resolution may be preferable, for example where you wish to negotiate with the police about harassment of activists on demos. Here local resolution might provide a speedy solution whereas a formal investigation could take several months to resolve.

23.5 What to write in your letter

It’s best to keep the original letter of complaint fairly brief, as you will usually have to make another statement to the police for purposes of the investigation. State the name of the officer or officers against whom you are complaining, and the particular police force to which they belong. If you do not have their names, identify them by their number if possible. If you cannot do this, you should provide the police with any other identifying evidence, for example a photo, or description stating the time and location of the incident, the officer’s vehicle registration or anything else that may assist in the identification. Give brief details of the nature of your complaint and details of any witnesses who have agreed to make statements on your behalf. State that you do not wish to use local resolution unless you are happy for this procedure to be used.

23.6 Location of the Interview

A tactic commonly employed by the police is to send the investigating officer to your home, who then attempts to persuade you not to bring formal complaint proceedings and use local resolution instead. If you do not wish this to happen, you should state in your initial letter that you wish to arrange to make a formal statement at your local police station and that you do not wish the police to visit you at home.

23.7 The Interview

Once the chief constable determines that the complaint is to be resolved formally an investigating officer (‘IO’) will be appointed to investigate your complaint, and you will receive a letter to inform you of this. IO will usually be from the ‘professional standards’ department of the same police force, unless the complaint is very serious. He will not be a colleague of the officer who is the subject of your complaint.

You should contact the IO and arrange to make a formal statement at a location of your choice - either at your home or at the nearest police station. The statement is usually taken in a fairly relaxed and informal manner. Remember you are the one making the complaint and the officer is there solely in order to facilitate this. If you wish, you may have a friend or solicitor with you. You will dictate the statement to the officer who will make a handwritten record. You can say exactly what you want to say in the statement, and the officer may not add his own comments.

When you have finished you will be invited to read the statement and to sign at the bottom of each page. You are free to alter anything you’re not happy with, so make sure the statement is exactly right, as this will form the substance of your complaint. If you have any independent evidence – for example, video evidence or names and addresses of witnesses – you should supply a copy of these to the IO. Once he has taken your statement the officer will then make further enquiries. These will include taking statements from the officer being investigated and from any other relevant parties.

23.8 What Happens Next

The IO is under a duty to keep you regularly informed of the status of the investigation. It is not known at present what details this information will consist of, but hopefully it will include police witness statements and any other evidence they are relying on in their defence. When the investigation is concluded, the IO will decide what action if any to bring and inform you of this in writing. You have the right to appeal against his decision and have 28 days in which to do so. The appeal will be dealt with by the IPCC, not the police. You cannot appeal against complaints conducted or managed by the IPCC itself.

This article is for information purposes only; its aim is to let people to know their full rights under UK law. Nothing on these pages is absolute as the law is always changing; if in doubt contact a trusted solicitor for further advice. We do not encourage you to break the law.

Please feel free to copy and distribute these articles to fellow activists, but do not alter the text in any way. These articles are anti-copyright for non-commercial purposes. Please visit www.freebeagles.org for the latest version of our articles and to learn about the freeBEAGLES Ethical Open Document License under which this document is distributed.

If you see any errors, or we have missed any changes to the legal situation please contact us as soon as possible, at info@freebeagles.org, as wrong information can prove costly to people's freedom.

LEGAL ADVICE FOR ACTIVISTS

23. Complaints against the Police

Contents