Reviews, Complaints & Compliments

Complaints & Compliments

Making a Complaint

We appreciate that the police complaints process can seem complex and it is important to understand what we can – and what we can’t do, to resolve your concerns. The following information is intended to help guide you through that process to make sure your complaint is directed to the right place, the first time.

A complaint can only be dealt with by the Appropriate Authority who has powers and responsibility specifically conferred by legislation and it’s important to understand that the Durham Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) is not permitted to operate outside this framework. The legislation does not allow the PCC to become involved in complaints for which the Chief Constable is the Appropriate Authority, which includes complaints about the Force.

To avoid frustration and unnecessary delays in resolving your concerns, the first question to ask is –what is the nature of your complaint?

Eligibility Criteria: In order to make a police complaint, you must be eligible to be a complainant. This is defined by the legislation as someone who has directly witnessed the incident or who is directly affected by it.

Complaints can be raised by other people on their behalf, but only with their written consent.

Therefore, if you are not directly affected or were not present at the incident that you have concerns about, you cannot use the police complaints system to make your concerns known. For example, complaints arising from what you have seen on social media or in the news or heard about from another person.

You can still make your concerns known to Durham Constabulary as part of general feedback.

Holding the Chief Constable to account

The PCC has a statutory responsibility to hold the Chief Constable to account for the performance of the complaints system locally, and for ensuring there are processes in place to scrutinise, support and challenge the overall performance of the Force, to monitor complaints and to hold the Chief Constable to account for the performance of officers and staff.

The police complaints system has recently been the subject of significant reform which sets out principles of accessibility, reasonable and proportionate handling and learning and improvement; all vital factors in ensuring both public confidence and the ongoing development of a robust, effective & efficient complaints system.

Complaints against the Chief Constable - The PCC is the Appropriate Authority to deal with complaints about the Chief Constable only, as outlined above.

Relevant Review Body for Review of Complaint Outcomes (Also know as Appeals).

At the conclusion of a complaint against Durham Constabulary for which the Chief Constable is Appropriate Authority, you have the right to apply for a Review of the outcome, should you disagree with the Force’s outcome decision.

The Relevant Review Body (RRB) will be either the PCC or the IOPC, depending on the circumstances of your original complaint. The RRB will be clarified in your outcome letter.

As a result of changes made to the police complaints system by the Policing and Crime Act 2017, Police & Crime Commissioners became responsible for carrying out Reviews (Appeals) of most complaints recorded since 1 February 2020 and handled by their police forces under Schedule 3 of the Police Reform Act 2002.

The PCC has a statutory responsibility to hold the Chief Constable to account for the performance of the complaints system locally, and for ensuring there are processes in place to scrutinise, support and challenge the overall performance of the Force, to monitor complaints and to hold the Chief Constable to account for the performance of officers and staff.

The police complaints system has recently been the subject of significant reform which sets out principles of accessibility, reasonable and proportionate handling and learning and improvement; all vital factors in ensuring both public confidence and the ongoing development of a robust, effective & efficient complaints system.

Complaints against the Chief Constable - The PCC is the Appropriate Authority to deal with complaints about the Chief Constable only, as outlined above.

If your complaint to Durham Constabulary qualifies for an OPCC review the following information must be sent to via email or post at the following:

Email: General.EnquiriesPCC@durham-pcc.gov.uk

Durham Police and Crime Commissioner's Office, Police Headquarters, Aykley Heads, Durham, DH1 5TT.

Please include:

• The details of the complaint
• The date on which the complaint was made
• The name of the force whose the decision is the subject of the application and the date on which the complainant was provided with the outcome
• The details about their right of review at the conclusion of the investigation or other handling of their complaint
• Please explain would you would like to happen

Alternatively, please download and complete the review form

Only the complainant or someone acting on their behalf can make an application for a review.