Complaints against police force soar by 40pc over 12 months

But the rise has been blamed on a change in recording practices driven by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

There were 554 separate complaints against the force between April and September this year, a substantial rise on the total of 387 complaints made over the same period in 2009.

Humberside Police was also the most complained about force when compared with three of its most similar forces.

The Humberside force had 122 complaints per 1,000 members of staff, compared with 107 against South Yorkshire Police, 61 against Gwent Police, and 54 against Durham Police. Figures for Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and South Wales Police were not available.

The figures also reflect how a small number of people making multiple complaints can impact on the total, and also increase the allocation of resources and workload of the officers needed to respond.

A report to the Human Resources Committee of force watchdog Humberside Police Authority next week shows an example of 11 complainants generating 45 complaints cases, with a total of 131 separate allegations.

Since January this year, the most complained against employees were police officers, with one on five of the 2,028 officers on the Humberside payroll being the subject of complaints.

Just under 10 per cent (31) of the 321 community support officers had complaints made against them, compared with nine of the 341 special constables and 30 of the 1,840 other police staff.

There was only one complaint against one of the six senior officers at superintendent rank.

The biggest number of complaints related to neglect or failure in duty, accounting for 190 of the 554 complaints between April and September this year, a rise of 86 since the same period in 2009.

This was followed by complaints of incivility, impoliteness or intolerance, up by 45 complaints to 131, and complaints of excessive force, which rose by 21 to a total of 67 complaints.

There were three complaints of sexual assault compared to none last year, and a rise in the number of complaints regarding oppressive conduct or harassment (up eight to 42); unlawful or unnecessary arrest or detention (up 11 to 21); and irregularity in evidence or perjury (up 11 to 20).

There were fewer complaints of serious non-sexual assaults (down to one from two): mishandling of property (down five to three); lack of fairness and impartiality (down 15 to 10); treatment in custody; and in the improper disclosure of information.

The report said: "Pleasingly, we have seen reductions in complaint around discriminatory behaviour, treatment in custody and issues of fairness and impartiality."

The number of complaints surrounding the direction and control of the force fell massively from 139 last year to 34 in 2010, a drop of 105.

Like last year, D Division also accounted for the greatest number of complaints (220) between April and September, followed by the East Riding (C Division, 153 complaints), North East Lincolnshire (A Division, 79 complaints), and North Lincolnshire (B Division, 69 complaints).

The figures also show that 19 constables in D Division, 18 in C Division, nine in A Division and seven in Operations, all had three or more complaints or conduct cases against them between October 2009 and September 30 this year.

Five sergeants in D Division, two in C Division and one in A Division also had at least three complaints made against them during the period.

Officers with three or more complaints against them have their records discussed by the Professional Standards Branch, the head of Human Resources, and the inspector responsible for the individual officer.