Complaints data

The Authority receives about 2000 complaints each year.

In the year to 30 June 2008, the Authority received 2076 complaints, which is believed to be the highest on record. Of those complaints, 1690 were accepted for investigation.

Number of complaints

Year to 30 June	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Number of complaints	1781	1956	1902	1741	2016	2073

In the six months to December 2009, the Authority received 885 complaints.

What were the complaints about?

The Authority classifies its complaints into 35 categories. In 2007/08, the most common complaints were over: neglect of duty; practices, policies and procedures; bad language or attitude; and use of physical force.

The Authority received:

• 11 reports of deaths associated with Police actions (including cell deaths and deaths during Police pursuits)
• 48 reports of serious bodily harm associated with Police actions
• Over 300 complaints about use of force
• Over 700 complaints over neglect of duty – for example, failure to investigate, failure to prosecute, failure to respond to an incident, or failure to provide appropriate medical assistance or food/water.

Investigations

During 2007/08, the Authority conducted independent investigations into 350 cases. Of those, 147 remained open at 30 June 2008.

Complaint outcomes

In 2007/08, the Authority upheld 223 and partially upheld 18 ‘heads of complaint’ (that is, allegations against the  Police). Another 687 were not upheld, while 539 were conciliated and 621 were not pursued (i.e. no action was taken, for example because some other appropriate remedy was available such as raising the complaint in Court).

This data does not reflect the full range of the Authority’s findings. For example, of the ‘not upheld’ complaints, some include findings that Police policies and procedures have been breached but that those breaches did not amount to misconduct.

The Authority is enhancing its data recording systems to allow it to record results which are more detailed and more accurately reflect the Authority’s findings.