THERE were 819 complaints recorded against West Yorkshire Police during 2011/12, figures released by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) today reveal.
But that represented a large fall on the previous year.
The news comes hours after the force’s Chief Constable, Sir Norman Bettison, resigned amid the furore over the Hillsborough tragedy.
The police watchdog says the 819 complaints contained 1,662 allegations, with 272 appeals to the IPCC about West Yorkshire Police’s handling of complaints.
The figures show:
The appeals included 168 about the way the force dealt with a complaint investigation
10 about complaints resolved locally
94 about the force’s failure to record a complaint.
The IPCC completed 227 appeals during 2011/12, upholding 95 (42%), higher than the 38% result for England and Wales.
Dame Anne Owers, chair of the IPCC, said: “It is of concern that not only has there been an increase in the number of appeals to the IPCC from those dissatisfied with the way their complaint was handled; there has also been a considerable increase in the proportion of appeals that we uphold.
“All Chief Constables should take personal interest in the findings of this report and assure themselves that they and their staff are meeting their obligations to record and resolve valid complaints from the public.”
Chief Superintendent Marc Callaghan, of the West Yorkshire Police Quality and Standards Department, said: “West Yorkshire Police handles nearly three quarters of a million incidents each year and officers and staff regularly face very difficult circumstances when dealing with them.
“Public confidence in local policing is also high and currently stands at 55% – the highest rating achieved so far.
“West Yorkshire Police takes any complaint seriously and we work very hard to ensure all complaints are investigated in a professional and timely manner.
“Complaint cases recorded fell by 13% when compared with 2010-2011 and we are one of the top performing forces in England and Wales when it comes to complaints per 1,000 employees (we have one of the lowest figures of allegations per 1,000 employees).”
Nationally the IPCC says they are “dealing with an increasing number of appeals from people unhappy with the way their complaints have been handled”.
There were 6,339 appeals from complainants and of those 38% were upheld, 8% up on 2010/11.
There was a 16% increase in the number (1,374) of appeals made against the decision by police forces not to record a complaint in 2011/12.
Almost two thirds (61%) were upheld by the IPCC and the force was told to record the complaint.
WEST Yorkshire’s Deputy Chief Constable will look after policing in the county following the resignation of Sir Norman Bettison, pictured.
The police authority said Deputy Chief Constable John Parkinson would take up the role of acting chief constable.
The authority will be dissolved in mid November, after the election of a new Police and Crime Commissioner.
The new Commissioner will then co-ordinate the search for a new Chief Constable.
Sir Norman,56, quit after a furore over his role in the Hillsborough tragedy and subsequent alleged cover-up over policing.
A Home Office spokesperson said Sir Norman’s resignation was "a matter for the police authority".
Policing minister Damian Green said it was important that the West Yorkshire force was able to get on with the job of policing.
"If the inevitable deep concerns surrounding all of this - which, clearly, would be very, very understandable - were getting in the way of doing that job, then it is clearly sensible to allow West Yorkshire Police to get on with their important work.”
