PCC Julia Mulligan bids to take over police complaints

Julia Mulligan, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for North Yorkshire, is due to outline her plans at a meeting tomorrow.

Legislation introduced last year allows PCCs to take “a more active role in the police complaints process”.

Mrs Mulligan will present a report to the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel on Thursday which outlines her case for creating a new customer service team within her office to work with the force’s Professional Standards Department (PSD).

The new ‘complaints and recognition’ team would be the sole point for all complaints or compliments from the public regarding North Yorkshire Police. It would deal with resolving complaints at the earliest possible opportunity, mediating low-level civil claims and passing complaints onto PSD where appropriate.

The team would also thank the workforce when necessary, and act as a contact point for more serious complaints and appeals, "supporting North Yorkshire Police in learning, improving and driving best value from public feedback”.

The proposed changes would still see complaints against individual officers investigated by the Professional Standards Department, while issues such as - for example - reimbursement for damage caused by forced entry, could be handled directly by the customer service team.

Under Mrs Mulligan’s business plan, an Independent Complaints Adjudicator will also be appointed to lead appeals or reviews.

The proposed changes would not affect the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), or formal complaints against police, but Mrs Mulligan said it would make it easier for the PCC and Chief Constable to monitor complaints or trends, and make the complaint process easier for the public.

Complaints against North Yorkshire Police rose by 14 per cent last year, with 331 complaints in 2016-2017, up from 291 in 2015-2017. If the business case is signed off, the new procedure could be in place by 2019.