Last week, the Home Secretary announced that she was launching a public consultation into the possibility of PCCs taking responsibility for the police complaints system. At present, the system is pretty complicated – if you have a complaint against the police you have to contact the police themselves. Something that often arouses suspicion – the police, rightly or wrongly, has a reputation of ‘looking after their own’ and although this is probably somewhat historic, it is not something it can easily shake off.

When PCCs were introduced they were immediately (and I mean the day after the election results were announced) inundated with people wanting to take their complaints to the person they had just elected to represent them and to increase accountability in their local police force. However, in the large number of cases they had to be referred back to the force themselves. Something PCCs and the public both found frustrating.

Currently, PCCs only handle complaints against the Chief Constable – a distinction the public find hard to accept. In their eyes a complaint against any officer in the force is essentially a complaint against the officer responsible for the entire force.

By moving the complaints procedure to PCCs entirely should mean an increase in public confidence that a complaint is being dealt with independently. An IPCC report earlier this year found that:

• One in three people were not confident that if they complained to the police it would be handled fairly
• Three quarters of people would complain if they were “really unhappy” about a police officer – but 40% were not confident they would know how to do so

Following the publication of the report Dame Anne Owers, who chairs the IPCC, said:

“Most of the 30,000 complaints made to the police each year were handled by the service itself.

“This survey shows that too many people are still either unsure of how to make a complaint about the police or don’t believe their complaint will be dealt with fairly.”

There is, however, a significant drawback to moving the complaints system to PCCs and that is simply one of resources. Whilst PCCs would undoubtedly welcome a move that would see more transparency in the police complaints systems – dealing with complaints is a huge job. Ensuring a PCC’s office is equipped for this is vital to ensure the effective handling of those complaints.

Here, at pam, we’re already working with both Dorset and Essex PCC’s offices to help them streamline their work, work more collaboratively and improve their processes.  The pam platform that both these PCCs are working with will give them a huge advantage if this move is implemented. They already have the tools to handle the complaints within their remit at the moment – a system that allows them to visualise, manage and prioritise work, break down the silos that often exist and open up bottlenecks. The platform allows for a shared team view of all the work that is in the system that encourages prioritisation and collaborative working. The pam platform reduces the chances for complaints and people to ‘fall through gaps in the system’ – a criticism all too often levelled at public services.

However, the most beneficial reason for handling complaints through the pam platform, is the ability to identify the underlying causes and therefore make improvements in the complaints received. All of which can be measured against the Police and Crime Plan and can crucially involve partners and multiple agencies where needed. Allowing for PCCs to genuinely impact on the reasons behind the complaints, root out problems and improve the public’s experiences and confidence in their local police force.

The opportunity for PCCs to improve the police complaints system is one that should be grabbed and with the help of pam is something that can truly give the public a system they can feel confident in.

To read more about the Home Office consultation click here.

To find out more about how pam can help your office work better now and in anticipation of taking over police complaints you can contact us on 01273 704500 or on enquiries@pam-it.com