The Police and Crime Commissioner’s office in Cleveland will become one of the first in the country to take on the initial handling of complaints about the service provided by police.
Police and Crime Commissioner Steve Turner has established an independent Resolution Team to act as a single point of contact for members of the public who wish to express their dissatisfaction with Cleveland Police.
From Monday 31 January, all but the most serious concerns will be dealt with by the Resolution Team, with the aim of providing an independent and customer-focused service to complainants.
Staff will deliver ‘service recovery’ of lower level complaints – that is, they will use customer service to resolve customer dissatisfaction, liaising with all relevant parties involved in the matter.
If they are unable to resolve a complaint through customer service – or should the complaint be of a serious nature – the matter will be passed to Cleveland Police’s Directorate of Standards and Ethics for assessment.
The Resolution Team will remain the customer’s point of contact and will report any findings or conclusions from police investigations back to the complainant.
Transforming complaints’ handling
Cleveland PCC Steve Turner said: “One of my first decisions as PCC was to transform the way complaints about Cleveland Police are handled and increase public confidence in the system.
“Not everyone will be satisfied with the service they receive from the police and it’s important that we have a process that can swiftly and effectively resolve any concerns.
“By establishing an independent team staffed within my office, it allows me to keep a closer eye on the issues people are experiencing with the force and through my scrutiny process, ensure lessons are learned.
“I hope these reforms will empower people to have confidence that their concerns will be listened to and if the wheel can be put back on – it will.”
The decision to remodel the complaints systems comes after several years of a successful complaints ‘triage’ model, delivered by the Commissioner’s office and designed to resolve lower level complaints in an efficient manner.
During 2020-21, this small team handled the vast majority of concerns about Cleveland Police, dealing with 75% of the 1,666 complaints made about the force. It is expected that the new Resolution Team will handle a similar volume.
Full details of the new complaints’ process are on the PCC website at: https://www.cleveland.pcc.police.uk/how-can-we-help/your-say/dissatisfaction-and-feedback/
To make a complaint, email [email protected] or call 01642 301860.