Police Complaints Authority Annual Report 1990
01 January 1991
Police Complaints Authority Annual Report 1990
artdoc August=1991
Complaints against the police have reached a record high
according to the latest Annual report from the Police Complaints
Authority (PCA). During 1990 the Authority had 5,078 cases
referred to it, an increase of 1% over the previous year, of
which 836 were undertaken for supervision by the PCA. Of the
referrals 95% related to death, serious injury or assault
occasioning actual bodily harm (Table la). Disciplinary cases
rose by 16% to 7,156 and action was completed on 7,273 cases,
(16,712 individual complaints) clearing a backlog of cases from
1989. Of the 7,273 disciplinary cases dealt with by the PCA in
1990, 758 (10.4%) resulted in some from of action ranging from
criminal or disciplinary charges being brought to advice given.
Of the 16,712 individual complaints no action was taken on
13,372 of these. The vast majority were cases in which the
`evidence was insufficient either to establish that misconduct
had occurred or to identify the officers whose alleged misconduct
had given rise to complaint.' In 72 complaints there was no
action because the officer was no longer serving.
In particular the Report draws attention to `a noticeable
increase in the number of complaints about police officers making
use of the Police National Computer (PNC) or force intelligence
records for other than official purposes'. In one instance an
officer whose daughter was seeing someone he disapproved of used
police records to discover confidential information on him. In
another example a police officer whose wife was going out with
another man used the PNC to discover the owner of the car in
which his wife had been seen. Of these cases the Report notes
that `a few chief officers ... do not seem to consider it serious
enough to warrant taking formal disciplinary action.'
Given its poor record dealing with complaints since its
introduction in 1984 it is hardly surprising that, according to
the British Crime Survey, less than one in ten people aggrieved
by police conduct bother to make a complaint.
Police Complaints Authority Annual Report 1990, April 1991, HC
351, HMSO; Police Complaints Authority Triennial Review
1988-1991, April 1991, HC 352, HMSO.
Statewatch no 3 July/August 1991