How Local Resolution works

Once you have made your complaint, the police officer or police staff manager who is looking into it will contact you. They can arrange to talk to you either face-to-face, on the telephone or they can contact you by letter if you prefer.

You will need to:

• tell the police what happened and how you felt about it
• say what action you would like to see taken as a result of your complaint
• agree the process for resolving your complaint (see section on the Local Resolution process).

Local Resolution is not about apportioning blame or about police officers or staff being dealt with through formal misconduct procedures. It is about learning from what has happened.

If you need support to make your complaint you should tell the police. This is so that they can ensure you get all the information you need, in the way that suits you best. For example, you may prefer to talk to someone in a language other than English or have a friend with you when you speak to the person who is looking into your complaint. Someone acting on your behalf can also make a complaint with your permission.

The police will:

• listen to your concerns
• explain what action can be taken
• explain what cannot be done so that you know and understand what will happen
• confirm with you the process that will be followed and who will deal with it.

When you make your complaint, the police will ask you for certain information - such as your age and ethnic group. Providing this information will help the police and the IPCC to ensure that everybody is treated fairly.