Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) issue revised guidelines to improve the handling of discrimination complaints.
The publication of the IPCC’s revised Guidelines for handling allegations of discrimination followed a number of critical reports by the IPCC, which found significant failings in the way that four forces carried out such investigations and engaged with complainants.
The guidelines will assist police to properly and effectively handle allegations of discrimination, including discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, or disability.
A series of training workshops for police professional standards departments are being held by the IPCC across the country to support the roll-out of the guidelines.
Dame Anne Owers, Chair of the IPCC, said: “It is crucial for public confidence in the police and the police complaints system that allegations of discrimination are handled properly. Fairness is a core principle underpinning the concept of policing by consent, and unfair or unlawful discrimination fundamentally undermines this principle.
“In drawing up this guidance, we have listened to people who have experienced discrimination firsthand and to groups who have supported people to make complaints about discrimination. We have also consulted the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the College of Policing and police forces. This has given us a valuable insight into how to improve the way complaints involving discrimination are handled.
“This clear, practical guidance sets the standards that complainants, families and communities should expect when allegations of discrimination are made.”
Nik Noon, Chief Executive of Galop, London’s LGBT anti-violence & abuse charity, added: “In the main police forces provide a good service to LGBT communities. But too many LGBT people still face problems of inconsiderate, inappropriate or outright homophobic, biphobic or transphobic treatment, often at exactly the moment when they most need assistance. It is essential that officers get their response right at the critical moments when their actions can help or harm individuals and communities.
“We welcome this excellent guide and see it as a valuable tool in supporting police forces tackle the minority of officers who act in a discriminatory manner and hope it will be used to build momentum in positively responding to diversity among the communities they serve.”
Alongside the discrimination guidelines, the IPCC has also published a set of key principles to help police forces improve accessibility to the complaints system.
The IPCC reviewed information on force websites and other sources of information to see how well forces made this information available to the public, and how they support complainants with specific needs.
The review found a lack of consistent good practice. Some of the information online and in police stations was inaccurate, difficult to understand or inaccessible, and there was little use of social media. Some forces did not accept complaints from people in police custody.
Dame Owers continued: “We have consistently heard from the public that access to the police complaints system needs to improve. The aim of these principles is to ensure that people who are dissatisfied with the service they have received are better able to make a complaint. This in turn will increase levels of confidence in the complaints system and in policing itself.”
The IPCC is working with forces and the College of Policing to ensure that the discrimination guidelines and the accessibility principles are embedded in police complaints processes, guidance and training.
To read the guidelines, click here: