IOPC releases police complaints data for 2024-25

More people than ever before are accessing the police complaints system in England and Wales, figures released by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) show.

The number of complaints logged by the 43 police forces rose to 94,940 between April 2024 and March 2025.

That represents an 11 per cent increase on the previous 12 months and the most on record since the IOPC began collating and analysing complaints data.

IOPC Director of Oversight and Casework, David Ford, acknowledged the increase but noted that many police forces have improved the way they handle and record complaints.

He said: “We are seeing more public complaints being recorded, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is greater dissatisfaction with policing.

“We know some forces have improved their complaints handling process, centralising their receipt of complaints and decision-making systems. It is resulting in more matters being formally recorded and reported to us through their data submissions.

“The data also shows significant variations. While the total number of complaints has increased, some forces have reported a reduction in the number of complaints they received.

"The complaints data is an essential part of the IOPC’s oversight function, providing insights into complaints handling at national and force-level. We use this data to inform our ongoing oversight activities and engagement with forces, supporting improvements in complaints handling and performance, and identifying effective practices in complaints handling.

“Most importantly, members of the public need to have trust and confidence in the police complaints system. That’s what we’re here for, to hold policing to account in this regard. It’s right that if people believe they should have received better service from their police force, they know there is an avenue to raise concerns and ultimately, if appropriate, get independent scrutiny.”

A total of 91,750 complaints were finalised during the reporting year – that’s up 12 per cent on 2023-24 – with around two-thirds resolved informally by forces and a third dealt with formally under Schedule 3 of the Police Reform Act 2002.

Of the 31,687 cases handled formally, 60 per cent had at least one allegation resulting in an explanation being given; eight per cent resulted in learning for an individual or a police force; and seven per cent ended with an apology or debrief.

Anyone dissatisfied with the way a complaint is handled by a police force can apply for a review which, depending on its nature, will either be considered by the Local Policing Body or the IOPC.

Last year, the IOPC received 2,428 applications to review complaints, an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year and the most received in a year under the current legislation.

Of the 2,015 reviews we completed in the 12 months, we found complaints were handled reasonably or proportionately by police forces in 70 per cent of cases.

David Ford, added: “It’s appropriate for most complaints to be dealt with by police forces themselves and they have specialist departments for this. The system allows for more complaints to be handled informally, where appropriate, with an apology or explanation.

“However, a person can request a review if they are unhappy with the way their complaint was handled.

“The number of requests we’ve received to review police complaint investigations has increased. These are detailed independent reviews in which we examine all actions taken by the respective force to resolve the complaint and determine if the proposed outcomes are reasonable and proportionate.

“It’s encouraging that 70 per cent of the reviews we carried out concluded police forces had handled complaints appropriately. This is an improvement on the previous year.

“There are numerous factors driving these improvements, but I believe it demonstrates our Right First Time oversight work with police forces – ensuring complaints are handled the right way to stop the time-consuming cycle of complaints being investigated and reviewed numerous times – is delivering results.

“This is another important strand of the IOPC’s work, ensuring there is independent scrutiny and oversight in the complaints system, in order to increase public confidence in this area.”