Each quarter, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) collect data from forces about how they handle complaints. They use this to produce information bulletins that set out performance against a number of measures. They compare each force’s data with their most similar force group average and with the overall results for all forces in England and Wales.
The below narrative accompanies the IOPC Complaints Information Bulletin for Quarter Four 2022/23:
Our office continues to monitor and scrutinise the complaint management function of the Force. This latest Q1 complaint data relates to the performance of Surrey Police between 1st April 2023 to 30th June 2023.
- The OPCC Complaints Lead is pleased to report that Surrey Police continue to perform exceptionally well in relation to logging complaints and contacting complainants. Once a complaint has been made, it has taken the Force an average of one day to both log the complaint and contact the complainant. This performance remains stronger than Most Similar Forces (MSF) and the national average that is between 4-5 days (see section A1.1).
- Allegation categories capture the root of the dissatisfaction expressed in a complaint. A complaint case will contain one or more allegations and one category is selected for each allegation logged.
Please refer to the IOPC Statutory guidance on capturing data about police complaints, allegations and complaint category definitions. The PCC continues to be concerned about the percentage of cases logged under Schedule 3 and recorded as ‘Dissatisfaction after initial handling’.
Although the Force should be praised for making improvements since the Same Period Last year (SPLY), 24% of cases this quarter were still recorded under Schedule 3 due to dissatisfaction after initial handling. This is too high and requires further understanding and explanation. The MSF and national average is between 12% – 15%. For the period 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023, the Force recorded 31% under this category when the MSF and national average was between 15% -18%. The Force has been asked to examine this and report back to the Police and Crime Commissioner in due course.
Although the Force should be praised for making improvements since the Same Period Last year (SPLY), 24% of cases this quarter were still recorded under Schedule 3 due to dissatisfaction after initial handling. This is too high and requires further understanding and explanation. The MSF and national average is between 12% – 15%. For the period 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023, the Force recorded 31% under this category when the MSF and national average was between 15% -18%. The Force has been asked to examine this and report back to the Police and Crime Commissioner in due course. - The number of complaints cases logged has also increased from the SPLY (546/530) and is near enough similar to MSF’s who recorded 511 cases. The number of allegations logged has also increased from 841 to 912. This is higher than MSFs at 779 allegations. There could be many reasons for this increase including but not limited to; improved data integrity by the force, over-recording, more open and transparent systems for complaints by the public, under-recording by MSF’s or a more proactive approach by the Force.
The areas complained about are broadly similar to the areas SPLY (see chart on ‘what has been complained about at section A1.3). In relation to timeliness, the Force has reduced the time taken by four days in which it finalises cases outside of Schedule 3 and is better than MSF and National Average. This is worthy of praise and is due to the unique operating model within the PSD that seeks to deal effectively with complaints at initial reporting and where possible outside of Schedule 3. - However, this quarter, as previously referenced during Q4 (2022/23) data, the Force continues to take longer than MSFs and National Average to finalise cases recorded under Schedule 3 – by way of local investigation. This period it took the force 200 days compared to 157 (MSF) and 166 (National). The previous scrutiny by the Commissioner has revealed resourcing challenges within the PSD department, increased demand, and greater public confidence to report all contributing to this increase. This is an area the Force is aware of and looking to make improvements, especially with ensuring investigations are timely and proportionate.
- Lastly, the Commissioner wishes to commend the Force for reducing the number of allegations filed under ‘No Further Action’ (NFA) (Sections D2.1 and D2.2). For cases outside Schedule 3, the Force only recorded 8% compared to 66% for the SPLY. Moreover, the Force only recorded 9% under this category for cases inside Schedule 3 compared to 67% SPLY.
This is outstanding performance and demonstrates improved data integrity by the Force and is much better than MSF and the national average.
Response from Surrey Police
2. We pride ourselves on ensuring a complainant receives a detailed explanation of the options open to them including the recording of their complaint via Schedule 3. Whilst we will do our upmost to address their concerns outside of Schedule 3, we accept that this is not always possible. We will be looking at auditing a sample of complaints where we have been unable to address the Complainant’s concerns to see whether the outcome was the same as the proposed course of action.
4. PSD are in the process of recruiting four Police Constables following the authorisation of a 13% uplift to address the additional rise in complaints demand. It is anticipated that this will improve the timeliness of our investigations over the next 12 months. Our ambition remains to reduce timeliness to 120 days.
5. Having reported 67% during Q2 in 2022/23 and being significantly above the National Average, we have worked hard to ensure our categorisation processes accurately reflect the outcomes. This has resulted in 58% reduction in the use of ‘NFA’. Hopefully this demonstrates our ongoing commitment to improving data accuracy to build and maintain the public’s trust and confidence in the way we manage their complaints.