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Posted by Editor on 16th December 2011 at 10:35 AM
IPCC publishes annual complaints statistics for Greater Manchester Police
Complaints against Greater Manchester Police have fallen for the second year running, according to statistics issued by the Independent Police Complaints Commission today.

The IPCC's Police Complaints Statistics for 2010/11 showed that GMP recorded 1155 complaints against its officers – a fall of 39% on the previous year. Those complaints contained 1878 allegations – a fall of 38% on the previous year.

Reflecting the findings nationally, the top three areas for allegations against the force were around incivility (417 allegations), other assault (400) and other neglect of duty (261).

However, an area for concern for the IPCC was the number of appeals the organisation has upheld against GMP decisions not to record complaints against its officers. Out of 65 appeals submitted to the IPCC, 53 were upheld – 82% of the number received.

IPCC Commissioner Ms Naseem Malik said: "This is the second year that complaints have fallen against Greater Manchester Police. In that time complaints have more than halved, an incredible achievement.

" I am aware the Greater Manchester Police has undertaken a lot of work to improve the service received by the public. The force's Professional Standards Branch has been at the forefront in the introduction of raft of initiatives and It is evident that in terms of the number of complaints received this work is paying dividends. The force should be praised for listening to the feedback it had been receiving and responding by training and educating its officers and staff to improve how they interact with the public and deal with complaints.

"However, it is evident that some improvements are still needed in how the force records complaints. The IPCC has upheld 82% of the appeals it has received against GMP decisions not to record complaints. That level is disappointing and detracts from the excellent work the force has done elsewhere with complaints. I hope to see an improvement in this area next year.”

The number of non-recording appeals upheld against the force reflected a national trend which has prompted concerns from the IPCC.

The figures reveal that over 6000 people made an appeal to the IPCC because they were unhappy with the way their complaint had been handled by their local police force. Close to 1,200 of them appealed because the force had not recorded their complaints. The IPCC found in favour of the complainant in nearly sixty per cent of those cases, requiring local forces to reconsider the complaint in over 600 cases.

IPCC Deputy Chair Deborah Glass said today: ""I'm disappointed to see a year-on-year increase in the number of people who have contacted us to say that their complaint was rejected by their local police force and it's completely unacceptable that in six out of ten cases we're finding this to be the case.

"This is not only of great frustration to the people who should have had their complaint recognised, accepted and dealt with properly at a local level, but it's a waste of time and resources for everyone involved.”

"We have, within the past year, launched a campaign to encourage the police to ‘get it right first time'. For many complaints this means recording them and dealing with them properly at a local level. So often it is about listening to people about where they feel the police service has failed them and providing an explanation or an apology where something has gone wrong.”

The IPCC's report also revealed the following statistics for England and Wales:

During 2010/11 public complaints against the police declined 4% from the previous year to 33,099 – the first reduction since reforms to the police complaints system were introduced in 2004/05.

The most common aspects of policing that people complained about remained the same as in previous years, with nearly 50% of allegations about neglect or failure in duty (27%) and incivility, impoliteness and intolerance (18%).

The public appealed to the IPCC because they were dissatisfied with how their local force had dealt with their complaint on 6,173 occasions and the IPCC upheld thirty per cent of those appeals.



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