Policing and Crime - Complaints and Conduct

More information on making an enquiry or a complaint

Enquiries and Complaints


Enquiries

The majority of enquiries from members of the public relating to Police and Crime are dealt with by the Policing and Crime Casework team on behalf of the Mayor.

We will acknowledge receipt of your enquiry within 10 working days and will tell you what enquiries we intend to make and with whom. This may be the police or other agencies.

If you would like our help with a policing or community safety matter please complete and return the Enquiries and complaints form (Word 206KB) or use one of the contact options below:

By email: policingandcrime@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
By telephone: 0113 348 1740

By post: West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Wellington House, 40-50 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 2DE

Please note if you wish to request a review of a complaint that has been handled by the West Yorkshire Police Professional Standards Directorate you will need to complete the Right to a Review form which can be found further down this page.

Complaints

What is a complaint?
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction that can cover a whole range of things from policies to behaviour.

The West Yorkshire Mayor has a responsibility to make sure the Police Force has an effective process in place for dealing with complaints and for monitoring their Force’s performance in relation to complaints. The Mayor does not have any powers given to them by the Government to deal with complaints about Police Officers or Police Staff; this is the responsibility of the Chief Constable.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) oversees the police complaints system in England and Wales and regularly publish data about police complaint handling and recommendations for police forces. You can see the latest performance reports from the IOPC here: www.policeconduct.gov.uk/our-work/research-and-statistics

The Mayor is, however, the ‘Appropriate Authority’ for dealing with complaints about the Chief Constable of their Police Force and they also have a responsibility for carrying out reviews of most of the complaints that have been handled by their Police Force.

Making a complaint

If you would like to make a complaint, please complete and return the Enquiries and complaints form (Word 206KB) or use one of the contact options listed above.

 

Right of Review  

Complaints handled in this more formal way will have a right of review. For complaints where criminality or serious misconduct have been alleged, the review will be done by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). For other complaints, the review will be done by the Mayor. You must ask for a review to be done, but you will be told by the police force which organisation to ask. The relevant review body will be named in the letter from the police force setting out how the complaint was resolved.

The purpose of a review will be to assess whether the police force resolved the complaint in a reasonable and proportionate way and also to identify any more learning or opportunities for improvement.

The outcome of a review could be: 

  • confirmation that the complaint was resolved in a reasonable and proportionate way or 
  • a recommendation to the police force for more work to be done to resolve the complaint. The recommendation may include what more work is thought to be needed.

The review body will write to the complainant with the outcome of the review.

Go to the online form to request a review of a complaint.

Or if you would prefer, download a Word version of the form to request a review of a complaint to return by email or post. (Word Document 155KB) 

We would also recommend you can also read our frequently asked questions on reviews before submitting one.

 

‘Unreasonable Behaviour’ Policy

Read our ‘Unreasonable Behaviour’ Policy

 

Where to Send Completed Enquiries and Complaints Forms

Paper copies of any of the forms for making a complaint or requesting a review of a complaint can be posted out to anyone who contacts the Mayor's Office.

Completed forms can be sent by post or email.

Email address: policingandcrime@westyorks-ca.gov.uk

Postal address: Mayor of West Yorkshire - Policing and Crime, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Wellington House, 40-50 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 2DE

Telephone: 0113 348 1740 (24 hour voicemail)