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Appealing against a complaint not being recorded

Under the Police Reform Act 2002, each police force in England and Wales has the duty to either record your complaint or give you the reasons why it has been decided not to record your complaint. If you made your complaint to the wrong police force or police authority, they must pass your complaint to the correct police force or police authority.

If you have tried to make a complaint about the conduct of a person serving with the police but the police did not record it, you may be able to appeal to the IPCC. We will look at your case to see whether not recording your complaint was justified.

The IPCC cannot deal with complaints about overall policies of a police force called – ‘direction and control’ complaints. If your complaint is about the overall policies of a police force, your concerns will be dealt with by the relevant police force under a separate system.

You can appeal against the non recording of your complaint in the following circumstances:

• The police must make a decision about whether or not they are going to record your complaint or whether or not they are the correct police force or police authority to handle your complaint. The IPCC expects forces to decide whether a complaint should be recorded within 10 working days. You can make an appeal to us if you do not hear from the police within this time.

The police did not record your complaint

• The police have a duty to record complaints about the conduct of a person serving with the police. However, the police do not have to record a complaint if:
  • It is part of another complaint which they have already recorded
  • The complaint has been withdrawn by the person who made it
  • It is about ‘direction and control’ (see above)
  • It has been made by someone serving with the police
  • It is not covered by the Police Reform Act 2002

The police force or police authority that you made a complaint to was not the same as the one you were complaining about and they failed to tell the correct police authority or police force

• If you made your complaint to the wrong police force or police authority, they must pass your complaint to the correct police force or police authority and tell you this in writing.

Please note the IPCC MUST receive your appeal within 28 days of the date of the letter you have received from the police telling you that your complaint has not been recorded. This includes the time your appeal spends in the post.

If you are appealing because the police have not notified you about their decision and the 10 day recommended period has expired, you have 28 days to make your appeal.

If you do not send your appeal to the IPCC within 28 days, the IPCC does not have to consider your appeal. The IPCC may be able to extend this time period if you have very special circumstances and you can fully explain your reasons for asking for an extension, or if the police failed to tell you what they are going to do about your complaint.

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