Sharp rise in police complaints

Complaints fell into two categories – those against individuals and those about the quality of service provided by the force as a whole.

But the fact that the public is more aware of its right to complain may be one of the reasons for the increase, and Humberside's record means it still has the lowest ratio of complaints to staff numbers of all similar forces.

Chief Constable Tim Hollis said: "All of the divisions have experienced a significant upward trend in the numbers of neglect/failure in duty type allegations.

"Without national or regional comparisons it is very difficult to judge if this is particular to our force only.

"I would put forward as some explanation of this the significant work being undertaken in the force regarding the Policing Pledge and the public's improving awareness of their right to redress.

"The greater majority of this type of complaint is often from those who are unhappy with a decision we have reached regarding whether or not to charge."

The force had 477 complaint cases between April 2009 and March 2010, compared with 435 for the previous business year.

But Mr Hollis underlined that the force was in uncharted waters as regards complaints. The rulebook regarding how complaints were handled was rewritten in July 2009.

Many of the changes were in response to meeting national performance targets. Other changes within the force had led to other new policies and procedures.

Of those dealt with, 40 per cent had been settled by Local Resolution, the process which allows certain complaints to be resolved at a local level. This was a big improvement on the 28 per cent resolved locally in 2008-09, when it was close to the bottom of the league table for concluding complaints at that level.

The figures translated as 104 per thousand members of staff: the lowest in comparison tables with most similar forces.

Since December 2008 the force has held 22 misconduct meetings.

Mr Hollis added: "When one considers that in the past the bulk of these would have necessitated a tribunal, it is self-evident how the costs and efficiency savings have been made.

"A break down of the 22 meetings held to date shows that seven final written warnings, eight written warnings, six management advices and one not proven, have resulted."

As a snapshot of the way the force handles complaints, in January and February 2010 the Force logged 334 calls which were expressing a complaint or dissatisfaction.

In 260 (78 per cent) of cases they were resolved quickly – 168 (48 per cent) within 12 hours, and a further 48 within 24 hours.

In the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) Performance data for 2008/09, Humberside achieved a 28 per cent Local Resolution rate, putting the force second from the bottom nationally.

Mr Hollis added: "It is pleasing therefore to note that we have now achieved the national average for Local Resolutions – 40 per cent.

"Likewise, our performance in relation to complaints per 1,000 staff, which is inclusive of all police staff and officers, is also the lowest in our most similar forces."

The Chief Constable's report will be considered by Humberside Police Authority members tomorrow.

A new step will be looking at ways to factor in data on how the force is measuring up to professional standards on wider performance indicators to give a more complete picture of the service which the public is getting.