The following elements were identified as Partial Compliance throughout the annual review.
The performance against standards and targets, including timeliness and quality of service, is monitored and evaluated on a monthly basis. This is captured in a report that clearly indicates performance against the Standard or target, which is published on the website and can be viewed by stakeholders, including service users. At this time, the Assessor found that IOPC was not meeting all the targets. It is appreciated that performance is variable; however, consideration should be made to how performance can be improved across all targets and subsequently maintained..
IOPC has many new strategies and ways of working being implemented due to the restructuring and Transformation programme; however, it is too early to measure the impact of these. As a result, the Assessor will be interested in the following topics throughout the three-year recertification in 2026:
The contribution and impact of the Directors of Engagement, and the introduction of Convening conversations between policing and community stakeholders.
The contribution and impact of the Service User Experience Involvement Officers, the introduction of Involvement Panels, additional surveys, and other consultation activities.
The impact of undertaking the service user survey using internal resources, as opposed to external.
The benefits gained from DRIVE, which measures performance against the values and contributes to objective setting.
The implementation and impact of the values-based awards.
The contribution and impact of the Transforming Investigation Project.
The impact of the updated Operations Manual.
The improvements made to the data and reporting.
The outcomes of the Benchmarking Strategy and how this has influenced service improvements.
The outcome of the Complaints and Feedback Policy review, and whether standards for timeliness and quality of service are included.
Several areas of the Organisation review the customer journey and the different service user touch points to identify and inform further improvements. However, this is not consistent across the business. Consequently, in the future, consideration could be made to encouraging all areas to review the journey and range of touch points to improve the service user experience.
The Organisation aims to ensure everyone has access to the services and is treated fairly. In the future, consideration could be made to reviewing the questions within the satisfaction surveys to establish whether service users believe they are treated fairly.
The following areas were identified as strengths in 2023 and 2024 and continue to be recognised with Compliance Plus, due to ongoing developments. Reference to the elements is made in brackets.
IOPC continues to promote itself as an inclusive organisation, with a key aim of ensuring the services are available and accessible to everybody irrespective of background, gender, age, race, etc. The Organisation is constantly seeking new ways to raise awareness of the services available to the public. The changes to research and service user engagement are a positive step towards involving different service users, listening to their experiences, and using the feedback to drive change. Whilst consideration has always been made to service users who are disadvantaged / hard-to-reach, the new approaches, for example, Survey-opt-Out and Involvement Panels, will further strengthen the Organisation’s ability to identify and work with these groups.
Since the three-year recertification in 2023, a new Director General has been appointed, a restructuring has been undertaken, and the Transformation programme has been and continues to be providing a clear direction. The service user has been a key priority as IOPC has embarked on its journey to Customer Service Excellence; however, over the past two years, there has been a renewed focus on putting the service user at the heart. Members of the senior leadership team advocate for the service user and actively seek feedback from all stakeholders, including staff. At the time of the annual review, senior leaders were meeting with staff across the Country, reporting on phase two of the Transformation programme and gathering feedback (ideas and suggestions) from staff, with a focus on the service user. A substantial amount of work has been undertaken to refocus staff on the values. A behavioural framework has been designed, and subsequently, performance against the values and behavioural framework is to be measured through DRIVE (the performance review process), with the aim of influencing cultural change.
Consultation with, and involvement of service users (and other stakeholders) are integral across the IOPC. Opportunities are taken to gather feedback from all service users to gain insight, which informs strategies, policies, and service delivery. The restructuring is already having an impact on the Organisation, as the QSI and Research teams work collaboratively to identify different approaches to gaining feedback from all stakeholders and influencing change.
IOPC did not experience any reportable data breaches in 2023/24 and only one reportable data breach (to Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)) in 2024/25, which required no further action. It continues to undertake internal and external audits and inspections, and responds positively to feedback, including that received from the ICO. Robust policies and procedures are in place to ensure the privacy of service users, both in face-to-face discussions and during the transfer and storage of personal information. All staff are required to complete data protection, freedom of information, record management, and counter-fraud training to ensure a thorough understanding of the systems and processes that must be upheld.
Over the past year, staff have been actively involved in reviewing the values and aligning them with their practical implications. They have contributed to a review of several strategy documents and policies, including how the Organisation can work with different service users. Staff are working on a range of projects under the Transformation programme, and many actively contribute to network forums, which influence change /improvement, as does their feedback in the staff surveys. Staff confirmed that they feel trusted and empowered to make decisions.
Recruitment and selection processes focus on individuals who have a strong bias towards prioritising the service user's needs. The induction has been reviewed and updated, resulting in a greater focus on the external and internal service users. The Bridge (learning platform) provides access to IOPC and civil service topics. Leadership and management programmes have been reviewed and updated once again to focus on both external and internal service users.
Historically, IOPC has used a range of strategies to recognise staff's contributions to the service user focused ethos. These have included ongoing support from leaders and managers to balance staff’s work and personal lives, as well as support their health and wellbeing. Cheers for Peers and senior leaders’ shout-outs, a monthly flash card for internal and external compliments and feedback, informal thanks, and praise. In the early stages. of implementation, the values-based award is used to further embed the focus on providing the service user with a positive experience.
Learning the Lessons remains a valuable resource and effective method for sharing best practices and learning from investigations and reviews across the industry. Learning recommendations are documented and contribute to improving policing country-wide, including changes to policy, guidance, and training. In addition, learning sessions are planned and delivered for staff, along with Subject Matter Experts, who share best practices. Staff also explained that the quarterly complaints and feedback meeting, as well as the quality improvement cycle, further contribute to sharing lessons learnt.
The following strengths were identified throughout this annual review and awarded Compliance Plus. Reference to the element is made in brackets. The Communications and Engagement Strategy 2023 - 27 indicates the aim 'To use effective communication, engagement and advocacy activities to build awareness, understanding and confidence in the police complaints system and our work'. It also outlines seven objectives to be achieved, focusing on Awareness, Promotion, Involvement, Influence, and Impact. There are numerous approaches to engagement and involvement, whereby IOPC works with different groups, for example, Sistah Space, Youth Panels, Community Outreach, schools, and others. The new Service User Strategy outlines the focus the Organisation is giving to listening to service users' voices, how it will be delivered, and those involved. The 2025-26 priorities are to ‘develop feedback surveys and increase their reach, design, and implement an involvement panel, develop processes to support involvement and experience, learn from other organisations and functions who do this well’.
Whilst IOPC has consistently prioritised service user engagement and involvement, and had a clear Communications and Engagement Strategy, the new Service User Strategy certainly indicates that the service user’s voice is paramount to improving services going forward. There is a real drive to listen to their experiences, including what went well / not so well, and how things could be done differently or better. The new approaches will provide real-time information, and subsequently result in changes / improvements being made at a quicker pace. Several methods are used to inform service users of the action taken as a result of their feedback, recognising that service users need to feel that they have been heard and that their feedback has made a difference.
IOPC continue to improve the range, content, and quality of verbal, published and web-based information to ensure it is easy to understand and meets the needs of service users. The Organisation is constantly challenged to ensure service users understand what the service can and cannot do for them. As a result, a new information sheet has been designed, which is also available digitally on the website, along with a video to support individuals with different learning styles. The Review Form has been updated to provide greater clarity to service users. Additionally, a comprehensive review of the Operations Manual is underway, and the rewrite incorporates service user experiences and the way processes and procedures can impact experience positively. This is resulting in staff understanding what is expected of them to contribute to the ethos of providing excellent services to service users.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (referred to as IOPC, or Organisation throughout the report)oversees the police complaints system in England and Wales. It makes decisions entirely independently of the police and government. IOPC investigates the most serious matters, including deaths following police contact and sets the standards by which the police should handle complaints.
IOPC has embarked on an extensive ‘Transformation’ programme. Its vision is to become a high performing organisation that delivers a brilliant service to users, partners, stakeholders and communities, putting the service user at the heart of the way the Organisation operates.
IOPC continue to use the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) Standard as a framework to contribute to achieving its priorities. The three-year recertification assessment against the CSE Standard took place in 2023.Due to limited resources in 2024, the format of an annual review, year one (AR1), was not completed, the annual review year two approach was used. As a result, the format of an annual review, year one, was used this year, 2025.
The annual review commenced with the Organisation uploading over 70 pieces of evidence to the Assessment Services Self-Assessment Tool, demonstrating how it continues to meet the CSE Standard. In addition, access was provided to a range of documentary evidence, including the Annual Report 2023/2024, Impact Report 2023/2024, Strategic Plan 2022/2027, Business Plan, Service Standards, Performance Framework and Governance Policies.
The Assessor conducted a desktop review of the presented evidence, focusing on areas of strength(Compliance Plus) and those identified for further improvement in 2023 and 2024.
The Assessor met with 15 staff members via Microsoft Teams to gain an understanding of the work undertaken by IOPC to improve the experience for service users. This put the evidence presented in the Self-Assessment Tool into context.
Following the meetings, feedback was provided on the outcome of the annual review, highlighting areas of strength that were awarded Compliance Plus and topics that will be of interest throughout the three-year recertification assessment in 2026.
The following report summarises the areas of strength and the topics the Assessor will be interested in throughout the assessment in 2026.
Read this report to learn about our use of the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) Standard as a framework to contribute to achieving our organisational priorities.
