Northamptonshire Police chiefs have hailed a 30 per cent fall in the number of complaints made against officers.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) this morning published figures showing the number of complaints made against police officers up and down the country.
As reported in the Chronicle & Echo in May, Northamptonshire Police recorded 376 complaints against officers, compared with 535 the previous year. The figures represent a 30 per cent fall. Just 14 forces had fewer complaints in the last 12 months.
Wootton Hall bosses have hailed the reduction as “more than three times the national average across England and Wales”.
The fall comes after a 42 per cent increase was recorded in Northamptonshire just two years earlier.
At the time, officers claimed the alarming spike was because of confrontational police tactics and an easier system to make and register complaints.
Speaking about this year’s reduction, Chief Inspector Mark Taylor, from the Professional Standards Department, said: “We have worked hard to refine our processes around complaints to firstly, make it easier to access the complaints system, and secondly, to respond and deal with complaints more effectively.
“We now offer a simple and streamlined option of quick service recovery for all members of the public dissatisfied by our service, this focuses on providing the complainant the outcome they want and how they want to receive it – this is reflected in the improved complaint statistics.
“Not only have we seen a reduction in the number of complaints and allegations received, but the average number of working days taken to finalise complaints was 72 days compared with the national average of 93 working days.
“Moreover we have found that against the national target of recording complaints within 10 working days, Northamptonshire Police ensured 97 per cent were within this time limit compared with the national average of 86 per cent, a year on year increase over the last three years for the force.
“Since August 2011 we have further improved our service by adapting our processes to record complaints in just 24 hours, not the national average of 10 days, as we feel this better meets the needs of our public – this is a significant step for us and our communities.
“While we are pleased with the improved position the force is in, we are aware that further improvements are required, like the number of appeals upheld by the IPCC.
“We recognise that we still have more to do in achieving our aim of delivering an excellent service to the communities of Northamptonshire.”
The latest figures, which were published by Northamptonshire Police Authority in May, show a reduction in the number of allegations from 619 to 492 this year, representing a 21 per cent reduction.
The national average was an eight per cent reduction.
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