COMPLAINTS against North Yorkshire Police have risen by 14 per cent in the last year, while complaints against Humberside Police have risen by 44 per cent - both far above the national trend.

Figures released by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) on Monday showed 34,103 complaints were recorded across the country in 2016-17, 144 less than the previous year (when 34,247 complaints were recorded).

In North Yorkshire, police recorded 331 complaints - an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year - and investigated 20 per cent of them.

Just over two-thirds (67 per cent), were dealt with through local resolution - where amends are made between the complainant and the force by written apologies, for example - three per cent (26), were withdrawn by the complainant.

Although the force saw an increase in the number of complaints, the number dealt with in the target period of 10 working days remained at 85 per cent - the same as the previous year, but down significantly from 95 per cent.

In Humberside there were 760 recorded complaints in total, a 44 per cent increase on last year. Of the complaints finalised by the force in 2016-17, 23 per cent were investigated by the force, and 59 per cent were dealt with through local resolution.

Deputy Chief Constable Lisa Winward said the report reflected well on the force, and NYP's local resolution level (67 per cent), was significantly higher than the national average (42 per cent).

She said: "During the 2016-17 reporting period, we have also dealt with an additional 420 complaints by way of service recovery through a method known as Triage. This is a more efficient and effective process which enables certain complaints to be dealt with quickly. However, if the matters cannot be resolved then the complaint will be fully recorded for IPCC purposes. We have seen a 30 per cent increase in cases resolved through Triage in comparison to the previous year."

The IPCC has called for the complaints system to be simplified, and for all forces to adopt a consistent approach to complaints and complainants, with changes due next year which will see Police and Crime Commissioners take on responsibility for dealing with complaints.

Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan said the police complaints system was "largely broken, and frequently fails both members of the public and the police workforce".

She said: "My new team will make it quicker and simpler for both the public and officers, as well as focus on the thank you letters the police receive every day, of which we get more of those than complaints.

"The picture in North Yorkshire at the moment is mixed. Those working within complaints do a good job in a badly designed system. Complaints have risen recently, but we need to understand those fully and make sure it isn’t a sign of poor practice or bad service, or whether instead it signifies the public feel making a complaint is worthwhile."