About the police complaints and discipline systems

Responsibility for the police discipline system lies with individual police forces. Their Professional Standards Departments (PSDs) handle most complaints and allegations of misconduct.

The Home Office publishes data recorded by PSDs on the outcomes of misconduct and criminal investigations — including those carried out by the IOPC. PSDs are required to refer the most serious cases to us, whether or not a complaint has been made.
The Police Reform Act 2002, as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2017, introduced significant reforms to the police complaints and discipline systems. These included changes to:

• the threshold for defining misconduct
• the outcomes of disciplinary proceedings

These reforms apply to cases where complaints were made — or conduct matters came to the attention of the force — on or after 1 February 2020.

Whether an investigation falls under the previous or current legislation depends on:

• the date the force’s updated legislation came into effect
• the date the complaint was made or the conduct matter was identified

The appropriate authority is the person responsible for making decisions about complaint and conduct matters. This may include:

• the chief officer of the police force (or equivalent)
• the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), or their equivalent
• the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (for complaints about the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service)
• the Common Council of the City of London (for complaints about the Commissioner of the City of London Police)