Under the police complaints process, the Police and Crime Commissioner is the ‘appropriate authority’ to review certain police complaints where you are dissatisfied with the outcome. Due to holding this function, it is important to know that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner is unable to comment or deal with complaints against Devon & Cornwall Police or its officers (unless it is the Chief Constable).
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint about the police, and your complaint has been handled under legislation concerning police complaints and police misconduct (the Police Reform Act 2002, Schedule 3), then you may request a review.
A review of your complaint is not merely a quality check of what has happened, it offers the opportunity to consider whether the complaint outcome is reasonable and proportionate, and if not, to put things right.
The types of things a review process will consider include:
- Whether any findings, determinations or the outcome to the complaint were reasonable and proportionate to the circumstances of the complaint.
- Whether any actions proposed were reasonable and proportionate
- Whether the process and method used to handle your complaint was reasonable and proportionate
- Whether you were provided with sufficient information during the process, and about the outcome of your complaint.
The appropriate organisation to undertake a review of your complaint will be specified in the complaint outcome letter.
If the complaint has been considered serious enough to be referred to the IOPC, or the conduct complained about would justify criminal or disciplinary proceedings, the IOPC will undertake the review. If it has been investigated by, or an investigation has been overseen by, the IOPC, there is no right to apply for a review of the outcome of your complaint.
A review must be received within set timescales, the detail of which will be included in the outcome letter. If a request for a review is out of time, it may still be considered in special circumstances.
If the request for a review is not valid, we will write to inform you and provide the reasons why.