We will check to see if your appeal has been made within the 28 calendar days from the date of the force’s decision letter.
If your complaint is within the 28 days we will contact the police force to request the background information concerning your complaint. Once we have received this information, which may take several weeks - we will then consider your appeal and inform you of our findings.
If your appeal was not received within 28 days, we will write to give you an opportunity to explain why. Depending on your response, we may decide that your appeal is not valid and we will not consider it any further. You will be notified of this decision. We can only consider late appeals in exceptional circumstances.
No. The role of the IPCC within the appeals process is not to re-investigate the complaint. Our role is to consider whether the correct procedures for local resolution have been followed. We do not conduct investigations of our own in these circumstances.
Our role in the appeal process is very specific. We can only consider whether or not the force has followed the Local Resolution procedure correctly. This means we can only consider the following points:
Were you told about the outcome? Once the local resolution has been completed, you should be told about what has happened, and what the outcome of your complaint is.
If we feel the police have not followed the correct procedure we can uphold your appeal. The IPCC can give any directions it considers appropriate for the future handling of the complaint. We will tell you about the instructions we have given to the police and explain what happens next.
If your appeal is not upheld, we will write to you and explain why the IPCC made this decision.
We cannot consider the outcome of the Local Resolution process. If the process has been followed correctly, but you do not agree with its outcome, there is no right of appeal to the IPCC. Any appeal points which relate to the outcome of the process will not be considered.
There is no appeal right against our assessment of your appeal. When you make your appeal this is your opportunity to provide us with all the necessary information to be considered - you cannot provide additional information for consideration after the decision is made.
If you have any questions or need more information about the appeal decision please contact us so that we can explain the reasons for the decision and clarify any queries you have.
You should be aware that IPCC casework decisions are final. This means that any decisions made by the Commission and communicated to the parties involved can only usually be overturned by the courts through the judicial review process. You should seek your own legal advice if you intend to pursue this course of action.
If you are not happy with the service you have received from the IPCC, or have any expression of dissatisfaction, you can make your complaint to the IPCC Internal Investigations Unit who will respond to your complaint accordingly.
We hope this information has been useful, if our role is not what you expected and, upon reflection, you want to withdraw your appeal please contact us as soon as possible.
Independent Police Complaints Commission: 90 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6BH
E-mail: enquiries@ipcc.gsi.gov.uk
Minicom: 0207 404 0431
Main switchboard: 0207 166 3000
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