NCJ Number
149560
Journal
Criminologist Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1994) Pages: 27-33
Date Published
1994
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The British system for receiving and resolving complaints against police accomplishes little of value and interferes with police efficiency and effectiveness.
Abstract
Other than the police, no public or private body has a similar statutory framework of complaints imposed on them, plaguing and interfering with their daily work. The police resent being singled out for such intense scrutiny. No one can argue that the British police service is corrupt or dishonest, yet a massive complaints system consumes public funds to investigate complaints against police, the majority of which are trivial in the extreme, totally false, or brought by persons whose own criminal conduct was responsible for their initial contact with the officer involved in the complaint. Constantly under the threat of investigation, with a sheaf of complaint forms in his pocket, the once conscientious officer is now "going by the book," the less conscientious believing that to do nothing is the best policy. The abolition of the police complaints authority would save millions of pounds each year and give the police thousands of hours they could use more effectively to counter crime. The police could then spend their time in policing without the constant fear of criticism. Overall, the current complaints system is unnecessary and expensive, seriously undermining the efficiency of the police service.