Hampshire Police -Increase In Complaints

In the last year, Hampshire police has seen the biggest increase in complaints than any other force in the country according to a report.

Figures out today in the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) annual report show the force received 648 complaints in 2010 -2011 but 819 in 2011 - 2012. That's a 26% rise.

A spokesman for hampshire said they're not too worried by it as they had a big drop last year so now it's balanced out.

Detective Superintendent Colin Smith is head of Hampshire Constabulary’s Professional Standards Department. He said:

“Our priority as a force is to provide an excellent service to the communities we serve across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and the complaints procedure is an important part of that. 

“I would always encourage anyone who is dissatisfied with our service to speak to us directly and raise their concerns. 

“The increase in the number of complaints this year comes following a 43 per cent drop in the previous year which balances out our position.

“Our focus in terms of dealing with complaints is to listen to what you have to say and investigate with a view to putting things right as soon as possible. Where we’ve made a mistake, we will apologise and work to reassure the individual that we’re doing everything we can to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

“Identifying lessons to learn is part of the process of improving our service and we do that by looking at our procedures, how we conduct our business and individuals where appropriate. We’ll do what we promised and update the complainant to keep them informed of our progress. 

“It is important for us that all complaints are fairly and accurately record and effectively resolved so I’m pleased to see that the vast majority of appeals to the IPCC are not upheld which demonstrates our commitment to getting it right first time.”