Police facing rise in complaints

Hampshire police said only 7% of allegations were substantiated

Complaints against Hampshire police have risen 15.5% - almost double the rise across England and Wales, according to figures from a watchdog.

The force received 1,046 complaints in 2008/09 compared to 905 during the same period in 2007/08.

While complaints across forces in England and Wales rose 8%, according to an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report.

Hampshire police said only 7% of all allegations were ever substantiated.

Ch Supt Ann Wakefield, head of Hampshire Constabulary's professional standards department, said: "We take all complaints against our officers and staff seriously and will always look to learn from them in order to improve the service we provide.

The public recognise the police have a difficult job to do. However, this does not alter the fact that they expect officers to do their job politely and efficiently IPCC chairman Nick Hardwick

"The complaints we receive about failure in, or neglect of, duty raise concerns about poor quality investigations and how they're supervised.

"To address those issues, a review is under way into how we deal with volume crimes such as thefts and burglaries."

She said the IPCC report did not highlight the "hundreds of letters we receive each year praising our officers and staff".

IPCC chairman Nick Hardwick said: "The public recognise the police have a difficult job to do. However, this does not alter the fact that they expect officers to do their job politely and efficiently.

"These statistics show that when it is not done in this manner they are likely to complain."

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