Nottinghamshire Police

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How will my complaint be dealt with?

Once your complaint is accepted and recorded as being about the conduct of a police officer or member of police staff, then it will be dealt with in one of two ways:

Local resolution
Local resolution is an informal approach to resolving complaints. It allows forces to learn lessons and improve the way they do things.

Many people prefer their complaint to be dealt with in this way. You cannot have your complaint dealt with using local resolution unless you agree to it.

If you agree to have your complaint addressed through local resolution, a local manager will discuss your complaint with you and draw up an action plan covering the issues you have raised.

If at the end of the local resolution process you are dissatisfied with the process followed, you have a right of appeal to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). For more information, visit the IPCC website.

Local investigation
If your complaint is not suitable for local resolution, a local investigation will be carried out by a police investigator. The investigator will usually be assigned from the police PSD, but they could be from a local police division.

You will be informed how your complaint will be investigated, what co-operation is required from you, how a decision will be reached and what action will be taken at the end of the investigation.

The type of investigation will depend on the nature and seriousness of your complaint and the likely outcome. An investigation might range from telephone enquiries conducted in a few hours to a more extensive process perhaps taking a number of months.

You can appeal to the IPCC if you are unhappy with the outcome of the police investigation into your complaint. For more information, visit the IPCC website.