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UK: Police complaints

01 July 1995

The annual report of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) shows that a record 48 people died while in police custody over the last 12 months compared with 27 in the previous year. Out of a total of 19,103 complaints completed in the year no action was taken in 17,824 complaints - for 7,917 complaints the PCA gave the police a dispensation "from the need to investigate", and 9,907 complaints were withdrawn due to "insufficient or conflicting evidence" (that is, between the complainant and the police officer). Of the 362 complaints of "Racially discriminatory behaviour" disciplinary charges were made in 1 complaint, in 5 "advice" was given to the police officer, 162 dispensation were made and in the remaining 194 complaints there was insufficient or "conflicting evidence". The number of complaints in "fully investigated cases", 11,191, which excludes the 7,917 complaints where a dispensation was given by the PCA resulting in any action being taken was 11% in 1994. The report says this total figure of 1,228 resulted "in disciplinary action" which is quite incorrect - in 908 cases "advice" was given to the officer with disciplinary charges in only 288 complaints (2.5% of the total). Looked at another way - for example from the view of the complainant - only 6.4% of complaints resulted in any action, and only 1.5% resulted in disciplinary charges. Of the 51 complaints of serious assault 44 were dealt with by either dispensations or "insufficient or conflicting evidence", while of the 6,318 cases of complaints for assault 6,127 were dealt with in the same manner. The PCA looked into 16 deaths caused by police vehicles - 2 involved "some type of pursuit" and "four were the result of collisions between police cars and pedestrians". Annual Report of the Police Complaints Authority 1994-1995, HMSO, £10.40; Police Complaints Authority - the First Ten Years, HMSO, £4.95; see also Statewatch vol 1 no 3.