Introducing our case studies

The IOPC oversees the police complaints system, reviewing police complaint handling and investigating the most serious and sensitive matters involving the police. We also share learning from our work to improve police policy and practice, to improve trust and confidence in policing.

The ten case studies included in this magazine are based on real investigations and reviews the IOPC has completed. We have carefully selected these cases because they highlight key themes we see in our work and because of the opportunities they represent to spark discussion and reflective thinking.

Many of the case studies demonstrate the range of situations that those in frontline policing can be confronted by. Officers can often be the first responders to incidents involving vulnerable individuals, having to make decisions in dynamic and fast-moving situations. We share these case studies to ask readers to reflect on existing training, guidance and resources to help prevent adverse incidents in the future.

Some case studies explore wider themes that might be seen in frontline policing, including risk assessment and communication with other emergency services or members of the public. These case studies might reflect scenarios you have or could imagine encountering and are designed to help you consider your own knowledge and confidence.

While this issue discusses more recent IOPC cases, previous issues of the magazine – covering areas such as roads policing, call handling, custody, and mental health – contain case studies that are still very relevant to frontline policing. We encourage you to continue to consider the learning raised in these issues to identify opportunities to improve policy and practice.

We include symbols at the beginning of each case study so you can quickly identify cases involving themes relevant to your role. All our case studies include reflective questions, designed to unpack key learning. If you are a frontline officer or member of staff, we ask you to consider your own answers to these questions. We hope this can help you to think about how you might approach future incidents that you attend to make sure you are in the best position to support yourself, your colleagues, and members of the public. By doing so you can help everyone to have trust and confidence in policing.

To read previous issues of the Learning the Lessons magazine, please visit:

Learning the Lessons | Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)

David Lee is the Learning and Improvement Lead at the IOPC