History
The idea of an independent body to oversee and investigate police complaints had been considered for many years.
Both Lord Scarman’s inquiry into the Brixton riots in 1981 and the Stephen Lawrence inquiry in1999 called for the establishment of an independent body.
In April 2000, the human rights organisation Liberty issued a study called An independent police complaints commission.
Partly in response to these calls, in May 2000 the government carried out a consultation on a new complaints system. It produced a briefing note called Feasibility of an independent system for investigating complaints against the police
It set out the emerging framework in December 2000 in Complaints against the Police - Framework for a New System.
These consultations culminated in the Police Reform Act 2002 which established the IPCC. The IPCC became operational in April 2004.
Before the IPCC
Prior to the establishment of the IPCC, complaints about the police were handled by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA). The PCA was created under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and its powers amended by the Police Act 1996.
The PCA had much more limited powers than the IPCC.
The PCA replaced the Police Complaints Board in April 1985.
