Take on the Police (and win)

Legal Disclaimer .......................................................................................................................1

Why Complain? ...........................................................................................2

What You Can Complain About.............................................................5
Who you can complain about .............................................................................................5

Police code of conduct ..........................................................................................................6

Complaints about policy or procedure ............................................................................7

Time limits for making complaints ....................................................................................7

Making A Complaint..................................................................................9
Preparing your complaint .....................................................................................................9

Gathering evidence ..............................................................................................................10

Writing your complaint letter............................................................................................11

Make it clear that you expect the officer to be disciplined ....................................11

Always communicate your complaint in writing .......................................................12

Example complaint letter ...................................................................................................13

Who to complain to.................................................................................16

List of E-mail addresses for police complaints ............................................................16

List of police website and telephone numbers ..........................................................19

Never use a police on-line form to make your complaint ......................................21

How Your Complaint Must Be Handled ...........................................22

The official record sheet ......................................................................................................22

If you don’t hear back within 15 working days ...........................................................22

 Take on the Police (and win)

After you receive your record sheet................................................................................23

What to do if the police ask to discuss your complaint in person .......................24

Refusal to record your complaint ....................................................................................25

Vexatious complaints ...........................................................................................................26

Fanciful complaints...............................................................................................................27

Dispensation ...........................................................................................................................27

How the Police Investigate Complaints ...........................................29

STEP 1. Your complaint goes directly to the force concerned. ..............................29

STEP 2. An officer is assigned to your complaint ......................................................30

Conflicts of interest ...............................................................................................................31

STEP 3. The police decide which resolution process to use ...................................32

Local resolution ......................................................................................................................32

Local Investigation ................................................................................................................33

Police Findings (And How to Handle Them) ..................................35

Making an appeal ..................................................................................................................35

Writing an appeal ..................................................................................................................37

Appeals vs court claims.......................................................................................................37

Can You Sue the Police? .........................................................................39

The County Court ..................................................................................................................39

Cause of action .......................................................................................................................40

False Imprisonment ..............................................................................................................41

 Take on the Police (and win)

Assault .......................................................................................................................................41

Battery .......................................................................................................................................42

Malicious Prosecution ..........................................................................................................43

Trespass .....................................................................................................................................44

Trespass to Goods .................................................................................................................45

How much compensation can you ask for? .................................................................46

Time Limits...............................................................................................................................47

Court rules................................................................................................................................47

Small claims court .................................................................................................................48

The Fast Track and the Multi Track...................................................................................49

Letter Before Claim ..................................................................................51

Writing a letter before claim ..............................................................................................51

Letter before claim sample ................................................................................................53

Who are you asking compensation from?....................................................................55

Vicarious liability ....................................................................................................................55

Sending your letter before claim .....................................................................................56

Mediating with the police ..................................................................................................57

Getting Free Legal Help .........................................................................59

Home insurance - legal cover............................................................................................59

Legal aid - exceptional funding scheme .......................................................................60

No Win No Fee Solicitors .....................................................................................................62

 Take on the Police (and win)

Pro Bono Lawyers ..................................................................................................................64

Litigant in Person...................................................................................................................67

More Help On Police Matters ...............................................................69

What Do The Police Have On You ....................................................................................69

You Have A Right to Remain Silent..................................................................................70

 Take on the Police (and win)

Legal Disclaimer

As much as we strive to keep our information accurate and up to date, we

cannot be held liable for any errors or omissions that may occur in this Ebook.
Nor can we be held accountable for any action that you may choose to take in
relation to the information contained within.

This work has been written in good faith, with the intention of helping the
reader get a better advantage over the police complaints process. We do not
advocate criminality of any kind, nor suggest that this information should be
used to help the lawless evade detection or defeat justice. Nor would we ever
knowingly mislead, misinform or impart irresponsible advice.

We encourage you to apply discretion and common sense when acting upon
any of the the information outlined here. If in any doubt, we urge you to do your
own research. Much of the material and legislation we used in compiling this
document are listed within the text..

If you have any questions regarding police complaints that is not covered by this
Ebook, then feel free to e-mail us at:

[email protected]

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Why Complain?
First off, let us shatter some preconceptions you may already have about the
police complaints process...

You may have heard that it is biased in favour of the police, that it rarely
punishes officers complained about and that very few people ever achieve a
satisfactory outcome from using it.

Well, let us tell you now, that those rumours are true.

Next, you may have heard that there is an Independent body called the IPCC
whose job it is to deal with any complaints made against the police.

Well, that is not true. On the whole, the IPCC do not investigate police
complaints. The police themselves do. The IPCC only investigate appeals against
complaints. Or, to put it simply: COMPLAINTS about complaints. And even then
they will only do so under limited circumstances. Worse still, those tasked with
investigating complaints and appeals at the IPCC - ‘adjudicators’ as they are
known - are made up almost entirely of ex-police officers!

You may also have heard that if you have a complaint to make against the police
then you can do so through your local MP, solicitor or Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

This is only partly true, because as soon as you have brought your complaint to
them they will just pass it directly to the police force you are complaining about.
These third parties will take no part in the handling of your complaint
whatsoever!

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Except for extreme cases (such as death in custody) nobody but the police will
handle your complaint.

What you may be pleased to know however is that every force in England and
Wales has its own dedicated complaints department, called the Professional
Standards Department. Staffed with officers who are trained specifically to
deal with allegations made by the public.

So it stands to reason that this will be the department that deals with your
complaint, yes?...

Well, no. The Professional Standards Department only deal with serious
complaints that could result in disciplinary action against an officer if upheld.

And it’s up to the police themselves to decide which complaints these might be.

The vast majority of all complaints made to the police are dealt with by serving
rank and file police officers. And in all likelihood not only will this officer work in
the same department as the officer complained of, he is likely to be his direct
superior. A colleague. A friend. Someone who may even have advised the officer
to act in the way that caused the complaint in the first place!

So with all that in mind, the next logical question would be: WHY BOTHER TO
COMPLAIN? When it is so clear that the complaints process is loaded in the
police’s favour. And in the unlikely event you do have a complaint upheld any
penalty imposed upon the officer concerned is likely to be paltry; consisting of
nothing more than a few words of advice or a bit of management training.

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The answer is that the police complaints process should not be treated as an
end in itself, but rather as a means to an end. A necessary first step in a much
more effective legal strategy. One that with a certain skill and determination
could result in a compensation payout, or proper disciplinary action against the
officer involved.

This Ebook is the result of our own extensive experience with the police
complaints process. Through our website Crimebodge, we have helped
thousands of people who have experienced countless abuses of authority, and
in that time we have developed a working method of  how to get the best
possible resolution from the complaints process.

By following the methods outlined in this Ebook, you will not only learn how to
make effective complaints against the police that work, but potentially achieve
compensation for any civil wrong that has been done to you, without ever
having to step foot in court.

And where the police refuse to accept wrongdoing and the civil wrongs that you
have suffered are many or complex, we explain how to bring the police to court
without having to incur the expense of a solicitor.

To our knowledge, there is no other book that explores the police complaints
process as thoroughly as this. We have done our utmost to make it as
comprehensive as possible so that any ordinary member of the public who may
have ben treated unlawfully by the police can bring an action against them.

We hope this book empowers you to do just that.

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What You Can Complain About

If you feel that you have been treated unfairly, rudely or unlawfully by the police
then you have a right to complain. You can complain as a victim, witness or
bystander. You can even complain on somebody else’s behalf if they give you
the authority to do so (such as a child or vulnerable person).

Here are some examples of what you can complain about:

• Police officer or police staff being rude, aggressive or unhelpful

• Their refusal to investigate a crime
• Botching the investigation of a crime
• A harassment warning made against you that you regard as untrue
• Police officers assisting bailiffs or TV licensing
• Failure to act (such as to apprehend or arrest)
• Discriminatory behaviour
• Being stopped in the street or in your vehicle for no good reason
• Police demanding entry to your home when no crime has been committed
• Police using unreasonable force
• Police vehicles parked unlawfully
• Off duty officers using their warrant card to gain advantage
• Off duty conduct which discredits the force
• Demands by officers in the street to hand over a phone or camera for their inspection
• Police officers detaining you needlessly

Who you can complain about

Complaints aren’t limited to uniformed police officers. You can also complain
about any of the following police staff:
• PCSOs
• Special Constables
• Civilian staff
• Desk staff
• Call handlers

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There is no limit to the rank of police officer you can complain about: from police
constable all the way up to Chief Constable.

Police complaints can also be made against other law enforcement, military and
detention officers such as:

• The Ministry of Defence Police

• British Transport Police
• National Crime Agency
• Civil Nuclear Constabulary
• Officers of HM Revenue and Customs

Police code of conduct

The police aren't just governed by law as to acceptable standards of behaviour,

they also have a national Code of Conduct and statutory rules listed within the
Complaints and Misconduct Regulations 2012. This determines how the
police should interact with the public at all times. If they breach this code then
they could be disciplined for misconduct.

Police manners aside, the reason so many people don’t complain is because they
are unsure if the police acted outside of their lawful authority. Unless you have a
good understanding of the law, it’s not always easy to know if the police have
actually done something wrong.

Did a police officer have a right to detain you on the street? Was it a valid stop
and search? Did they have a right to demand entry? Was a search warrant in
order?...

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If you are unsure if a police officer had a right to act the way he did, then don’t
let that prevent you from making a complaint. You have every right to express
your discontent about how you were treated, and ask what lawful right or
authority the police had to act in a certain way.

Complaints about policy or procedure

As well as individual staff members you can also complain about general aspects
of policing, such as decisions made, detection rates or the lack of police
presence in your area. These are known as direction and control complaints.

Examples of direction and control complaints would be:

• Police spending
• Police equipment
• Local detection rates or crime figures
• Police policy and decision making
• Police tactics

Unlike complaints against individuals, there are no penalties imposed on the

police if a direction and control complaint is upheld. Nor can you appeal
against how the complaint was handled.

Time limits for making complaints

You have 1 year of the event occurring in which to make a complaint.

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If your complaint falls outside of this timeframe the police will refuse to record it,
unless you can demonstrate a good reason for your delay.

One valid reason would be that you were unaware of the officer’s misconduct
until recently; such as making a subject access request for all of your personal
data from the police and finding comments made about you that were
malicious, rude or just unprofessional.

Note: Subject access falls outside of the scope of this Ebook but is
imperative to finding out everything that the police have recorded
against your name. For more information on subject access requests
please see our Ebook “What Do The Police Have On You.”

Another valid reason for delaying your complaint would be genuine fear of the
officer who you were complaining about. An unreasonable paranoia that the
officer would retaliate if you dared complain would not be enough to satisfy this.
You would have to demonstrate that through threats, intimidation or coercion,
an officer or his colleagues genuinely prevented you from making your
complaint.

The third category of valid delay is sub judice.

As the police cannot investigate complaints that concern ongoing criminal (or
civil) matters, any complaints made during this time are held pending the
outcome of any legal process. This is known as sub judice.

However, just because a police matter is ongoing does not prevent you from
making a complaint. You can complain while under investigation, while on trial
or even while in prison. Investigation of that complaint will be suspended until
the sub judice elapses.

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Making A Complaint
Preparing your complaint

You don’t have to complain the day an incident occurred, and in our experience
it is always best to leave at least a few weeks before doing so. Not only does this
give you time to prepare your complaint and gather supporting evidence, it will
protect you against any ‘malicious’ retaliation.

Unfortunately there are always a small contingent of police officers who think
they are above the law and have a right to penalize those that do complain. We
have heard accounts of people who have made complaints within 24 hours of
an incident, just to have the police subsequently arrest them for (or threaten to
arrest them) for a minor offence that allegedly arose from that incident. For
similar reasons we recommend that you never let a police officer know of your
intentions to complain about him in advance.

Allowing several weeks to elapse before making your complaint prevents the
police from retaliating with a malicious arrest. Once the the immediacy of the
event has passed any subsequent arrest would be extremely hard for the police
to justify, especially if such an arrest was made directly after them having
received a complaint.

This two week window also gives you a good time to distance yourself from the
event, get some objective insight into it and prepare a carefully worded
complaint.

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Gathering evidence

Remember, you don’t always need to know the names of the officers or their
collar numbers to make your complaint. You can just as adequately give a
description of those that dealt with you. As long as you can give an exact time
and place that the event occurred, it will be up to the police force to establish
who the offending officers were.

If you have the registration number or roof identity number of any vehicles the
police travelled in, these will also suffice. You should also try to get the names of
any other witnesses to the event. Or better still, find others who may also wish to
complain about the officer’s actions.

It’s important to write down as much detail as you recall right after the event. If
the incident was captured on CCTV then you should contact the owner of the
CCTV immediately after and request a copy. If the CCTV is owned by a business
or local authority then you have a right under the Data Protection Act to obtain
a copy if your image has been captured upon it. Any business or authority that
refuses to hand it over will be breaking the law.

Unfortunately this right does not stretch to CCTV cameras monitoring private
houses or driveways, nor to individuals that may have filmed the incident on
their mobile phones. The best you can do to secure a copy of such privately
filmed material is to ask nicely! Or, where the information recorded contains
important evidence, obtain a court order to have the material seized.

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Writing your complaint letter

Try to keep your complaint focused without resorting to personal opinion or

insult. This does not mean that you should not express how you felt about the
incident. Quite the opposite, as describing your emotional reaction to what
happened is crucial and cathartic. For some people, just being able to ‘sound off’
at the police is all the resolution that they need. But the more drawn out your
letter is, the less likely your complaint will be handled fully. Remember, you do
not want to give the police any reason to throw their focus away from the
important issues to focus on trivia.

In principal, your letter should set out the following details:

• What happened and where.

• Which police staff were involved.
• What your concerns are regarding the incident.
• What you would like to happen as a result of your complaint.
• How you wish to be communicated with.

The last two bullet points are important as they may make a significant
difference to how your complaint is handled...

Make it clear that you expect the officer to be disciplined

When the police ask what you would like to happen as a result of your
complaint, there is only one true answer you should give: ‘That they should be
disciplined appropriately in relation to their acts of misconduct.’ There’s no point
in outlining your own wants and desires of how an officer should be punished,
because unless you want the officer excused, anything you suggest will be
ignored.

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The police have their own internal disciplinary procedures which they do not
deviate from and, in most cases, will not even share the details of. However, if
you fail to make it clear you expect the officer to be disciplined then this in itself
may be used as an excuse to avoid doing so.

Always communicate your complaint in writing

In some cases, where you don’t regard the matter as particularly serious or just
want an explanation regarding a minor point, it may be suitable to make your
complaint by phone. In which case you should ask to speak to a superior officer
for any explanation you feel you are owed. Although you are totally within your
rights to speak to the offending officer himself and ask for an explanation, this
could just result in further disagreement. In any case only a superior officer
could give the necessary ‘words of advice’ to a subordinate officer.

If you genuinely regard an officer’s actions as misconduct, then you should only
communicate your complaint in writing. The most important reason for doing so
is that it obligates the police to handle the complaint officially under the Police
Reform Act and the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011;
legislation that sets out rules on how complaints must be handled.

Also by insisting on written communication, you will have a permanent record

of everything that was said. None of which can be disputed by the police at a
later date. This is especially important if you intend to pursue the police for
damages outside of the complaints process, more of which we explain later.

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Example complaint letter

Below is an example of a complaint letter that has been set-out using the key
points. Feel free to use it as a guide to laying out your own complaint:

Today’s date

Your Name
Your Street Address
Your Town
Postcode

COMPLAINT REGARDING CONDUCT OF D.C. (OFFICER NAME)

On Friday 10th June 2015 at around 4pm I was with my wife in Nottingham City
Centre with our 5 year old daughter.

My wife and I had a heated disagreement outside Tescos which resulted in

myself walking inside with my daughter to calm the situation.

As I walked into the store I noticed that a man in a suit followed me inside. I
stopped to talk with a security guard about what had happened outside and I
noticed that the man was stood watching me.

After a minute of talking to the security guard this stranger interrupted. He

began talking to me in an obnoxious and rude manner, telling me he had seen

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me arguing. I told him the matter had been dealt with and was nothing to do
with him. He then insisted he was a police officer.

As he was wearing a suit I asked him to show me a warrant card. He told me that
he had left it at work, but flashed a two way radio which I was supposed to
accept as proof. He told me that that if I didn’t answer his questions then he
would arrest me and have my daughter taken into care. When I asked him what
offence I had committed, he told me breach of the peace.

He insisted I answer a whole series of personal questions about myself which he

jotted down onto a pad. Whenever I declined to answer a question he told me
I’d be arrested if I didn’t comply. After about 10 minutes of these questions he
left and told me I would be reported to social services.

I was shocked and shaken by this encounter, I could not believe this man was a
police officer, his actions were so unprofessional and aggressive. However when
I called the local station, they confirmed who he was.

I therefore wish to make a formal complaint about the conduct of this officer:

1) He had no right to insist I remain detained by him along with my 5 year old
daughter, when he could not even prove he was a police office.

2) He had no right to insist I answer his questions, without ever cautioning me,
and violating my right to silence by insisting I would be arrested if I didn’t speak.

3) The officer was rude and aggressive throughout the entire encounter. He also
projected an air of implied violence.

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4) He made threats of taking my child into care if I refused to accept he was a

police officer, even though I had committed no offence.

Please consider this an official complaint of misconduct. This officer behaved as

a thug and a bully and I want to ensure that he is disciplined to stop him treating
other members of the public in this way.

You have 14 days to notify me that this complaint been recorded. I would further
request that all communication regarding this matter is made strictly in writing.

You can contact me at the above address or you may email me at

[email protected]

Yours sincerely

A. Complainant

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Who to complain to
Many people assume that the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints
Commission) deal with initial complaints against the police and investigate
them. They do not. The IPCC will only investigate appeals concerning complaints
that have already been handled by the relevant force. Even then they will only
do so under the following conditions:

• The complaint the appeal relates to is about a senior officer

• If proved, the complaint would justify criminal and/or misconduct proceedings
• The complaint involves the infringement of a person’s rights under Article 2 of the
Human Rights Act (Right to life: I.E. A death in custody)

If you are not happy with how the force have dealt with the complaint, or what
action - if any - they have taken regarding your complaint then you can appeal
to the IPCC. Although just as with the original complaint, they may automatically
refer any appeal back to the respective police force.

List of E-mail addresses for police complaints

Your initial complaint should be e-mailed directly to the Professional

Standards Department (PSD) of the associated police force, selected from the
following list:

Avon and Somerset Constabulary:

[email protected]

Bedfordshire Police: [email protected]

Cambridgeshire Constabulary: [email protected]

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Cheshire Constabulary: [email protected]

City of London Police: [email protected]

Cleveland Police:[email protected]

Cumbria Constabulary: [email protected]

Derbyshire Constabulary: [email protected]

Devon & Cornwall Constabulary:

[email protected]

Dorset Police: complaints&[email protected]

Durham Constabulary: [email protected]

Dyfed Powys Police: [email protected]

Essex Police: [email protected]

Gloucestershire Constabulary:
[email protected]

Greater Manchester Police: [email protected]

Gwent Police: [email protected]

Hampshire Constabulary:[email protected]

Hertfordshire Constabulary: [email protected]

Humberside Police: [email protected]

Kent Police: [email protected]

Lancashire Constabulary: [email protected]

Leicestershire Constabulary: [email protected]

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Lincolnshire Police: [email protected]

Merseyside Police: [email protected]

Metropolitan Police: [email protected]

Norfolk Constabulary: [email protected]

North Wales Police: [email protected]

North Yorkshire Police: [email protected]

Northamptonshire Police: [email protected]

Northumbria Police: [email protected]

Nottinghamshire Police: [email protected]

South Wales Police: [email protected]

South Yorkshire Police: [email protected]

Staffordshire Police: [email protected]

Suffolk Constabulary: [email protected]

Surrey Police: [email protected]

Sussex Police: [email protected]

Thames Valley Police:[email protected]

Warwickshire Police:
[email protected]

West Mercia Police: [email protected]

West Midlands Police: [email protected]

West Yorkshire Police: [email protected]

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Wiltshire Constabulary: [email protected]

NOTE: If you wish, you can mail your complaint (or any necessary
documents) but try to use a signed for service so that you have proof of
receipt. You should call the police or visit their website for any mailing
addresses.

List of police website and telephone numbers

Here’s a full list of local police force contact numbers including links to their
respective websites:-
 
Avon & Somerset Constabulary – 01275 818340
Bedfordshire Police – 01234 841212
Cambridgeshire Constabulary – 01480 456111
Cheshire Constabulary – 0845 458 0000 / 01244 350000
City of London Police – 0207 601 2222
Cleveland Police – 01642 326326
Cumbria Constabulary – 0845 3300 247
Derbyshire Constabulary – 0345 123 3333
Devon & Cornwall Police – 01392 420320
Dorset Police – 01202 222222
Durham Constabulary – 0345 6060 365
Dyfed Powys Police – 01267 222020
Essex Police – 01245 491491
Gloucestershire Constabulary – 01452 726920

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Greater Manchester Police – 0161 872 5050

Gwent Police – 01633 838111
Hampshire Constabulary – 01962 841534
Hertfordshire Constabulary – 01707 354000
Humberside Police – 0845 6060 222
Kent Police – 01622 690690
Lancashire Constabulary – 01772 614444
Leicestershire Constabulary – 0116 222 2222
Lincolnshire Police – 01522 532222
Merseyside Police – 0151 709 6010
Metropolitan Police – 020 7230 1212
Norfolk Constabulary – 01953 424242
North Wales Police – 0300 330 0101
North Yorkshire Police – 0845 6060 247 / 01609 768000
Northamptonshire Police – 03000 111 222
Northumbria Police – 01661 872555
Nottinghamshire Police – 0115 967 0999
South Wales Police – 01443 743775
South Yorkshire Police – 0114 220 2020
Staffordshire Police – 0300 123 4455
Suffolk Constabulary – 01473 613500
Surrey Police – 01483 571212
Sussex Police – 01273 475432
Thames Valley Police – 01865 841148
Warwickshire Police – 01926 415000

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West Mercia Police – 0300 333 3000

West Midlands Police – 0345 113 5000
West Yorkshire Police – 0845 6060 606 / 01924 375222
Wiltshire Constabulary – 0845 408 7000 / 01380 735735

Never use a police on-line form to make your complaint

The police often instruct people to use website forms to make a complaint.
These forms are pre-formatted and limit the amount of space (and detail)
afforded to the complaint, as well as requesting additional personal information
about yourself.

Remember, all you need to submit for your complaint to be valid is a name and
address. You do not have to submit telephone numbers, date of birth or any
other personal data.

You are not obligated to fill in any pre-formatted forms to make a valid
complaint.

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How Your Complaint Must Be

Handled
The official record sheet

Once the police receive your complaint in writing they have 15 working days in
which to acknowledge and record it. Recording a complaint means that it has
formal status under the Police Reform Act.

Note that this 15 working days is to tell you that they have received your
complaint, not to investigate it. They do this by writing out a summary of your
complaint onto an official record sheet and sending a copy to you. This will
contain a breakdown of each allegation made against each officer that you
name.

If your complaint contains multiple allegations (or multiple officer names), then
each one will be listed on a separate line, with the officer’s name and collar
number in the adjoining column.

If you don’t hear back within 15 working days

It is one of the underlying duties of the IPCC to ensure that all complaints
against the police are recorded. In fact this is one of the few obligations they
undertake extremely well.

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The IPCC have little patience for any police force that does not comply with this
rule and they will take immediate steps to ensure that your complaint is
acknowledged.

If the police do not record your complaint within 15 working days then contact
the IPCC. Although they will not look at the details of your complaint they will
contact the relevant police force and instruct them to send you a complaint
record.

You can notify the IPCC via their website:-

https://secureforms.ipcc.gov.uk/Pages/form_appeal_prsra.aspx

Just ensure that the statutory 15 working days have elapsed before contacting
them otherwise they will just instruct you to wait the remainder of that time
before they will help.

After you receive your record sheet

Once you have a copy of your record sheet, the police must investigate your
complaint.

This could take anywhere from a week to six months! It all depends upon the
seriousness or complexity of your complaint.

By law the police must give a proportional investigation to the matters you
have outlined. What this means is they will only devote as much time and effort

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into handling your complaint, as the allegations deserve. The more serious or
complex the allegations, the more time and effort the police must expend in
handling it.

Vague or trivial complaints will be handled quickly and with little investigation.
Sometimes, they will be dismissed altogether. This is why it pays to write out the
body of your complaint carefully and fixate on the most serious of allegations,
rather than fill your complaint with a wide range of grievances.

Allegations backed up with evidence, such as witness statements, video

recordings or CCTV are likely to fare better than those which consist of your
word against a police officers.

What to do if the police ask to discuss your complaint in

person

A common tactic the police use to dispose of complaints quickly is to arrange to

meet up with or telephone the complainant. Sometimes the officer tasked with
investigating the complaint will simply turn up at your door, uninvited and
unannounced!

It pays to be on your guard with such tactics as by agreeing to them you will
almost certainly prejudice your complaint.

Firstly, the police may use any opportunity to speak with you as an attempt to
have the complaint downgraded or even withdrawn. By appealing to your good
nature they may do their utmost to persuade you to have the matter handled
‘unofficially’ with the promise that they themselves will deal with it swiftly. It

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should go without saying that any unofficial channel you agree to - such as the
promise of a senior officer giving a subordinate ‘a good talking too’ - will usually
be a crude attempt to dispose of a complaint as quickly as it is made, as well as
avoid it from being officially recorded.

Even investigating staff from the police’s own Professional Standards

Department - who by law should not be using such tactics - attempt similarly
swift disposals. Usually by asking complainants to meet up with them so that
they can discuss the nature of the complaint and clarify the issues. These
meetings are commonly used to write up a ‘fresh account’ which - after the
complainant agrees to sign - is then substituted for the original complaint.
Naturally this ‘fresh account’ contains a much more favourable version of what
happened.

If you feel that you must meet up with the police to discuss the matter in person,
then do so away from your home or a police station. Ask that they meet you in a
neutral environment such as a cafe. And most importantly of all, ALWAYS INSIST
ON RECORDING THE CONVERSATION. That way if there is any later dispute about
what account you gave or matters you agreed too, you will have concrete
evidence.

Refusal to record your complaint

Sometimes the police may write back refusing to record or investigate your
complaint. When doing so, they must send you a notice informing your of this
decision and their reason why.

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The police are limited to a strict list of statutory reasons as to why they are
rejecting your complaint:

1. The complaint has already been dealt with

2. The complaint has been withdrawn by the complainant
3. The complaint is a duplicate of a recent or earlier complaint by the same
complainant
4. No name or address was attached to the complaint
5. The complaint is vexatious or oppressive. In other words the complaint has no merit
as it has been clearly written in spite or anger.
6. The complaint is fanciful: I.E clearly a fiction

This list is fairly self-explanatory but we will focus on the the last two reasons.

Vexatious complaints

If you have submitted a complaint that consists of opinion or abuse - without

defining what it is you are complaining about - you are likely to have your
complaint rejected on the grounds of it being vexatious or oppressive.

However, it’s still possible to submit a reasonable complaint and have it rejected
as vexatious. Especially if you have made numerous complaints in the past
about the same officer, or are making the same complaints about different
officers over an extended period of time (Although such complaints are often
rejected as repetitious rather than vexatious).

Never give the police the opportunity to reject your complaint in this way.
Tempting though it is, keep your anger and any insults you might feel like

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hurling out of your complaint and stick to the facts. Don’t say anything that
could be used to make you look unreasonable!

Fanciful complaints

A complaint can only be rejected as fanciful when the allegations within it are
clearly out of this world. Such as the suggestion that the chief constable is
electrifying your brains with a ray gun.

Only the maniacal and the truly spectacular can be dismissed out of hand as
fanciful. Conspiracy theories and wild allegations, no matter how unlikely they
may seem at first glance, must be recorded. Although such complaints are likely
to be handled abruptly.

Making an untrue complaint about any serving officer or member of police staff
is a criminal offense, therefore no matter how angry you may be at the police
there is no justification whatsoever for lying and fabricating events that did not
occur, simply to smear or discredit someone.

Dispensation

When the police reject a complaint using the above criteria it is called a
'dispensation'.

If you ever receive such a refusal from the police to either record or investigate
your complaint then then you can appeal directly to the IPCC.

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In most cases, the police too must appeal to the IPCC before they can properly
dispose of a complaint.

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How the Police Investigate

Complaints
Although the police should keep in regular contact to let you know how your
complaint is progressing, you may not hear from them again until they have
completed their investigation.

During this time it’s easy to think that you have been forgotten about or totally
ignored, but once you have a copy of your complaint record the police have no
option but to resolve it as they are required to do by law.

It’s worth understanding how the investigation process works, so you at least
know what obligations the police must fulfill and what part you continue to play
in the process.

STEP 1. Your complaint goes directly to the force

concerned.

If you have e-mailed your complaint to the relevant force, this goes without
saying. However the IPCC invites people to submit complaints via a form on
their website. Many people mistakenly assume that this means the IPCC will
then handle the complaint. But they are merely acting as a forwarding service
for all the police forces in England and Wales. This is the same for any complaints
made through MPs, senior officers or other legal advisory services. Even if you
send your complaint to the chief constable it will be passed back down the line
to the force complaints department.

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We cannot reiterate enough that any third party you submit your police
complaint too will NOT handle it. All complaints, by law, must be dealt with by
the force the problem originated from. Only a death in custody, or serious
corruption allegations will be handled by the IPCC.

STEP 2. An officer is assigned to your complaint

After a record sheet is returned to you, an officer at the respective force is

assigned to your complaint.

Again, just because you e-mailed your complaint directly to the Professional
Standards Department does not mean it will be handled by them. In all
likelihood it will be handed by a serving police officer. Albeit one which is senior
in rank to the officer complained about.

If you are complaining about a police constable this complaint must be handled
by a sargeant. If you are complaining about a sergeant, this complaint must be
handled by an Inspector. Inspector complaints go to a Chief Inspector. Chief
inspector to superintendant, all the way up the ranks until you reach the Chief
Constable.

Complaints about a Chief Constable are handled by the Police Commissioner of

that particular county.

Not only will your complaint be dealt with by a serving police officer, it may also
be sent to the very department that the offending officer or member of staff

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works at. If you are complaining about a PCSO for instance, then the
investigation will be handled by the line manager that tasks the PCSO with his
duties. And if you are complaining about a police constable, than that complaint
will most likely be handled by his sargeant who oversees his duties.

Even if you complain about someone in the Professional Standards Department

itself, in all probability, your complaint will be handled by someone who sits just
a few desks away and is on first name terms with the officer in question!

Conflicts of interest

In some circumstances you can object to an officer handling your complaint and
ask that it be given to someone else if you believe there to be a conflict of
interests. Such appeals must be made before the investigation begins.

For instance, if the officer tasked with your complaint turns up at your door
unannounced, or makes suggestions that your complaint should be withdrawn,
or offers to handle it unofficially, these are good grounds to reject that
investigating officer and insist that it be passed onto someone else.

You can even ask the investigating officer himself to disclose any conflicts of
interest that may prejudice the handling of your complaint. Once they write to
tell you that they will be handling your complaint you can write back to ask what
their working relationship is with the officer concerned, how long they have
known the officer and what reassurances they can give that their professional
relationship will not prejudice the investigation.

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STEP 3. The police decide which resolution process to use

There are currently 2 processes that the police use to resolve complaints:
• Local resolution
• Local investigation

In the past the complainant could choose which resolution process to use, but
since 2012 it has been up to the police to decide.

Local resolution

This is the process whereby a complaint is resolved in a fairly informal manner.

The complainant discusses the matter with the investigating officer and they
come to an agreement on what type of (soft) outcome would be satisfactory.
The complainant gets to voice his or her concerns regarding the matter and the
investigating officer takes ‘criticism’ on board and maybe tries to explain it all
from the police’s point of view. You can even request that the officer who has
been complained about discusses your concerns with you. However they are
free to decline such requests (and commonly do).

According to the IPCC only a third of complaints are handled via local resolution.
But in our experience this is the process that the police most commonly choose,
simply because, regardless of outcome, the officers concerned will face no
misconduct proceedings of any kind. They are also not required to participate in
or even acknowledge the complaint!

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Some people do make petty and irrelevant complaints about police officers,
which the local resolution process is ideal for. The real problem is that the police
opt for local resolution process even for serious complaints because of how
quick and non-punitive it is. As a result it does nothing more than pay lip service
to the complainant, by giving the misleading impression that the allegations are
being taken seriously when the officer will never be dealt with in respect of
them. If anything the complaints are absorbed by the force on behalf of the
individual concerned.

Although the police have final say on the resolution method to use, you have a
right to refuse a local resolution if you do not feel that it is a satisfactory way of
handling your complaint. If the police will not offer you a local investigation,
then you can appeal this decision right away to the IPCC.

Local Investigation

With local investigation the police must conduct a formal ‘enquiry’ into the
allegations that have been made. Any complaints that are upheld will remain on
the officer’s service record for life. They may also face misconduct proceedings if
the allegations upheld are serious enough.

If an officer receives multiple complaints against him from different

complainants within a 6 month period - even if they are rejected - this can
prevent the officer from achieving any promotion in rank, and can also trigger
an internal investigation into the officer’s conduct.

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As soon as a local investigation is undertaken, the officer concerned will receive

an official notice that he or she is now the subject of a complaint. They will also
receive a copy of the complaint record detailing the allegations made.

This officer will then be interviewed and given the opportunity to put their side
of the story. As with local resolution the officer can decline to participate.

At this stage the police may contact you again and ask for more detail
concerning certain aspects of the allegations. If you have any audio or video
evidence they may ask you to forward it. If you have names and addresses of
witnesses they may ask for those details so that they may contact them. Again,
you should always respond to these requests in writing. You are under no
obligation to divulge any information that you do not wish to share. However
you don’t want to give the police an excuse to perform a shoddy investigation
by blaming you for a lack of co-operation so it may be in your best interests to
offer them as much assistance as you deem appropriate.

Local investigations can be extremely thorough and will typically result in

several pages worth of A4 in response to your original complaint. Unfortunately,
due to the fact that an officer can face misconduct proceedings, there is always a
heavy bias in favour of the police. Not only are the reports keen to dodge the
important issues, but in their haste to exonerate the officer of blame they are
largely defensive, dismissive and often blatantly dishonest.

However the police’s willing to make excuses for a colleagues unlawful

behaviour can have it’s advantages when considering court action, which we
examine later.

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Police Findings (And How to

Handle Them)
Once the police have concluded their investigation you will be sent a report into
their findings. These reports vary in detail but typically should deal with all of
the allegations that were made on the record sheet one at a time.

Each allegation will be noted as having been upheld or not-upheld.

Before reading the contents of these reports it’s well worth fixing yourself a stiff
drink and lowering your expectations! Few people find anything other than
insult and despair among these reports. However, keep reminding yourself that
the police complaints procedure is by no means the end of the matter (if you
don’t wish it to be).

Making an appeal

If you decide that you are not happy with the way the police have handled your
complaint, then you can appeal against it. The police should enclose full details
on how to make such an appeal (and where to send it) with their completed
report.

Here is a list of circumstances under which you can make an appeal:

• The police or local policing body did not to record the complaint

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• The police refused to investigate or ended an investigation into a complaint when

they should not have
• The outcome of a local resolution was not a proper one. For example you believe that
it was not appropriate to the complaint, or the outcome did not reflect the issues set
out in the complaint
• You did not receive enough information explaining why the police came to their
decision.
• You disagree with the findings of an investigation. Perhaps because they ignored any
video evidence or witness statements you submitted, or disregarded important parts
of your complaint
• You disagree with the action the police plan to take after an investigation. For
instance, you think that the offending officer has got off lightly
• You believe that the officer committed misconduct or gross misconduct and the
police findings disagree with this
• You believe the officers actions were criminal and disagree with the decision not to
refer it to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)

In some of these instances the IPCC will be listed as the appropriate appeal
body, but you can send your appeal directly to the police force that handled
your original complaint. Bear in mind that, just like complaints, almost all
appeals sent to the IPCC are returned to the relevant police force. However, a
different police officer must be assigned to the appeal who will have had no part
in investigating the original complaint.

An appeal complaints form can be downloaded from the IPCC website here:

https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/onlineforms/
Appealing_against_the_police_forms.pdf

You have 28 days in which to submit your appeal beginning from the day you
received a copy of the police’s findings. If you feel that it will take you longer
than 28 days, and have good reason for doing so, then contact the IPCC to let
them know that you wish to appeal, and that your comprehensive response will
be forthcoming.

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Writing an appeal

In our experience less than a third of complainants ever bother to make an

appeal. But those that do commonly find that they are successful in having parts
of their earlier complaint upheld, or achieve admissions from the police that can
serve as vital evidence in court. For this reason, we would always encourage
people to appeal.

You should set out your appeal letter in the same way you set out your original
complaint, but this time breaking down each part of the report that you object
to. Make sure that you stick to the issues outlined in the original complaint. It’s
very easy to find misinformation and untrue allegations that arise from these
findings that can generate a whole new slate of complaints. By all means
challenge them, but don’t shift your focus onto them at cost of your original
complaint.

Admittedly, writing out an appeal can be time consuming and frustrating. You
may also have to wait up to 3 months for yet another biased response. However
you may be surprised at how willing the police may be to reverse an earlier
decision when it becomes apparent you have no intention of giving up. Police
officers that handle appeals commonly feel the urge to toss a bone in (no matter
how small) simply because they believe that to do so will be satisfaction enough
for the complainant.

Appeals vs court claims

Making a complaint against the police or an appeal to the IPCC in no way

restricts your right to bring a civil court claim against the police. In fact, you can
completely bypass the complaints process if you wish and begin court action in

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it’s place. But there are clear advantages to exhausting the complaints process
before attempting to sue the police.

Firstly, the courts will have expected you to have made some attempt to resolve
your issues with the police. The fact that you can demonstrate your willingness
to have gone through both the complaints and appeal process would look very
favourable, as well as prove how reasonable (and patient) you have been.
Certainly an advantage when it comes time to determine how much
compensation you should be awarded.

Secondly, if somebody lodges an appeal and then subsequently begins court

action against the police (or threatens to do so), the IPCC insist that the appeal
must then go directly to the front of the cue. So, if nothing else, legal action -
real or threatened - may place influence on the police to uphold a complaint
simply to deter you from pursuing court action.

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Can You Sue the Police?

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the police complaints process, and
have solid grounds for believing that they have interfered with your rights then
you should consider suing them in the county court. This will enable you to
obtain compensation, or, in some rare cases, obtain a court order instructing the
police to destroy unlawful data they may be processing.

As we will explain, just sending a letter before claim can sometimes achieve a
settlement without ever having to go to court! And in any event, you may be
able to put your case before a judge via the small claims court, which would
mean no costs if you lost and no need for a solicitor.

The County Court

There are 216 county courts in England and Wales. They were introduced in 1846
to enable people to settle disputes quickly and cheaply. Judgements mostly
involve the losing side paying a monetary award to the winner. However, judges
can also issue injunctions. These are official court orders that the losing side
must do a certain thing (such as tear down a wall built on another’s land) or
refrain from doing something (such as making contact with an ex partner.)

No matter what the outcome is of a county court trial, you cannot be sent to jail
if you lose nor get a criminal record.

It’s surprisingly very easy to get the county court process started and ‘summons’
someone to appear as a defendant. You can even do it on-line. However, before

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we look at how to make a claim, we need to establish if you have a claim to

make!

Cause of action

A cause of action is the legal term for an occurrence that gives somebody the
right to sue another. To bring a claim against the police you must first establish
the cause of action that entitles you to obtain compensation.

For instance, if somebody refuses to leave your property when asked, the cause
of action is trespass. If somebody threatens you with unlawful violence, the
cause of action is assault. If you are physically attacked, the cause of action is
battery.

If you didn’t like the way an officer spoke to you or the way the police conducted
an investigation, then there is unlikely to be any cause of action you can pursue.
Just because you were given cause to complain about the police doesn’t
necessarily follow you are entitled to compensation.

Below are listed the most common causes of action that give rise to legitimate
claims against the police in county court:

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False Imprisonment

Being falsely imprisoned doesn’t just mean being slammed up in a jail cell for
something you didn’t do. Being detained anywhere for any length of time can
be considered false imprisonment if the detention was unlawful.

False imprisonment claims are commonly brought against the police who abuse
the powers of stop and search, or refuse to let someone go on their way when it
has already been made clear that they have committed no offence.

Police officers who detain youths on the street to berate them, or insist users of
camera phones show them what photos they have taken, also leave themselves
open to claims of false imprisonment.

False imprisonment claims typically begin at £500 for the first hour, even if the
detention was as brief as a few minutes.

Assault

In criminal law assault is considered as causing unlawful physical harm to

another person. In civil law assault is defined differently, as no physical contact
need to have taken place.

Just the mere threat of violence, such as the drawing of an officer’s baton, or
demands that you unlawfully comply to an officer’s demands - under threat of
force - is enough to bring about a cause of action for assault.

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The assault itself must be real and immediate. You cannot claim you were in fear
of an officer when he made no threats nor implied any threat to harm. An officer
saying he will lock you up next time he sees you is also not an assault.

Battery

If assault is the threat of violence, then battery is the physical act of violence.

Battery doesn’t mean being pounded to the ground by fists and batons. Simply
laying a hand on a person’s chest, poking them, grabbing their arm or pulling at
their coat can be regarded as battery, especially if the contact is hostile or
unwanted.

Even pushing past someone to gain unlawful entry to their home, or placing a
hand on somebody’s shoulder to insist they get out of their vehicle when they
don’t have to is an actionable claim of battery.

However using reasonable force to lawfully make an arrest or prevent harm to

another is not battery, including being placed in tight handcuffs, or forced into a
police cell when under arrest.

Although you don’t have to show that you suffered any physical harm to have a
claim for battery, compensation awards can be quite high if an actual injury is
sustained.

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Malicious Prosecution

Malicious prosecution occurs when the police abuse their authority to wrongly
bring an individual to court, by knowing that the suspect is not guilty of the
offence.

The problem with malicious prosecution lawsuits is that they are notoriously
hard to prove. Not only do you have to show that there was malice on the part of
the police, you have to prove that they had no ‘probable cause’ to arrest you in
the first place. Simply being arrested and later released without charge is not
enough. If the officer can show that you were guilty of the offence, or he had
good cause to believe you were guilty, then any claim of malicious prosecution
will be defeated.

Furthermore, you have to have been formally prosecuted and summonsed to

court before you can bring a malicious prosecution. And that means a criminal
summons. Not a civil summons for non payment of council tax or an unpaid
parking fine.

Worst of all, if any criminal proceedings were brought against you, and you are
found guilty, you cannot bring a malicious prosecution unless you are later
successful with an appeal.

The plus side however is that not only are payouts for malicious prosecution
high they are invariably tried by a jury ‘on the balance of probabilities’. This
means that where you may not be able to prove conclusively with hard evidence
that the police knew you were innocent, you may be able to convince a jury that
your side of the story is the honest one if it comes down to a battle of your word
against a police officer’s.

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Trespass

Trespass to land is one of the most common lawsuits that the public bring
against the police. Land includes any building, business or residential premises
that you have exclusive right to enjoy as either tenant or owner.

As we go to great lengths to warn about in our article ‘Never allow the police
into your home’ and ‘What to do if the police threaten to break down your door’,
the police commonly abuse their powers to enter people’s home, simply
because someone - who has committed no crime - refuses to open the door to
them or allow them inside.

As with all of these categories of civil lawsuits, if the police can demonstrate that
their actions were necessary within the realms of the law, then you will have
little chance of a successful claim.

The police can force their way into your home for a limited number of reasons.
The most obvious of which is that they had good cause to believe a crime was
being committed (or a criminal harboured) at that moment. Barging into
somebody’s home to look around for evidence of wrongdoing or because an
officer didn’t like the way he or she was spoken to, is totally unlawful and can
give rise to a claim of trespass.

Bare in mind however that damages for civil trespass are paltry. Sometimes, the
judge can award what are known as ‘derisory damages’ of just £1 simply because
the claimant has not suffered any physical loss as a result of the intrusion.

For that reason, whenever considering a claim for trespass, it is always best to
pursue aggravated damages. Aggravated damages is a compensation that is

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awarded against any defendant that has deliberately abused their authority or
acted in a particular high handed way when committing a civil wrong. The court
can also take into consideration ‘hurt feelings’, or ‘emotional distress’ that the
claimant has suffered from the incident, such as depression, paranoia, fear and
insult.

Trespass to Goods

Trespass to goods is similar to trespass to land. If the police interfere with your
property - or damage it - without lawful reason then you can sue them for
compensation.

You can also apply for a court summons (under the Police Property Act 1897) to
have goods returned to you that the police are holding for no good reason.

An example of trespass to goods would include:

• Breaking down a door to gain unlawful entry to a property
• Pushing away a camera that is being used to record police activity
• Deleting photos on a camera
• Forcing open a car door to get a driver to leave the vehicle without lawful excuse

There is also an additional cause of action within trespass to goods called

‘conversion’. This is when the owner of goods is denied his or hr rightful use of
them due to them being taken or impounded by the police. This applies
specifically to goods that the police seize - often maliciously - knowing that they
were not stolen, had no evidential value and were not the proceeds of crime.

The most common example of conversion is when the police take away camera
phones that are being used to record them, citing that the camera has evidential

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value when it has none. (See our website article What to do if the police seize
your camera phone).

How much compensation can you ask for?

As much as you may be tempted, you cannot just pluck a figure out of the air
and insist that the police pay whatever you ask for in compensation. You must
be able to show how you arose at that figure. This doesn’t mean that you have to
submit invoices and receipts, as many of the causes of action we specify don’t
require proof that you suffered any physical loss. Instead, you should base your
figures upon what the courts have awarded other claimants who may have
brought similar lawsuits. This will involve searching the internet for relevant case
law.

The best place to start would be bailii.org. This is a website that compiles most
of the judgements and transcripts from civil and criminal courts in England and
Wales. However, this in itself can be a very time consuming process as court
judgements can be long, confusing and full of legal jargon. In which case it may
be best to seek legal advice.

More information upon obtaining legal advice can be found in the final chapters
of this Ebook.

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Time Limits

When considering legal action it’s important to know how much time you have
to bring your claim before it becomes invalid. Most civil claims must be brought
within 6 years of the date they occurred.

Trespass to the person (such as assault and battery claims) and trespass to
property have a 6 year time limit. Malicious prosecution has a 3 year time limit.

Claims that fall outside of the time limit would need a very good reason as to
why there has been such a delay. This would involve pleading your case before a
judge who would decide if the time limit could be waived and the case brought
to trial.

If the police burst into your home 3 years ago, or made you suffer a humiliating
stop and search 5 years ago, you would still have a potentially valid claim for
compensation. The only real threat in these instances will be the preservation of
evidence. Memories fade, paperwork is lost or destroyed and you may have a
hard time convincing the court to find in your favour if your evidence is nothing
more than hearsay.

Court rules

The courts have drawn up strict guidelines that you must follow if you are to
make a claim. These are known as the civil procedure rules (CPR), and a copy of
them are available on-line here:

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https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil

Many of these rules explain what you must do (and how you must behave)
before you bring someone to court.

The guidelines are fairly simple, but the fundamental rule is that the court will
have expected you to have attempted to reach a settlement with your opponent
in advance of bringing them to court. They will expect both sides of the dispute
to be reasonable and co-operative.

This is because the courts regard themselves as an absolute last resort, so no

matter how much you may dislike the police or feel disgust at negotiating them,
you cannot just turn your nose up and say ‘see you in court’.

Failure to follow these preparatory rules could prejudice your entire claim, so it’s
worth following them closely, even if it must be done through gritted teeth!

Small claims court

In most instances - especially those involving simple cases of false imprisonment

on the street, or trespass - the hearing can be dealt with quite quickly in a small
claims court. This would be a fairly informal process, sat around a table with a
judge and representatives from the police.

Small claims hearings can last anywhere from 30 minutes to an afternoon.

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You will not need to have a solicitor, nor will the court expect you to have a
detailed understanding of the courtroom process. The entire small claims
process is designed to be accessible to the layman, without any of the confusion
and intimidation that comes with a fully blown court trial.

The judge will however have expected you to have followed the civil procedure
rules.

The best thing about having a case heard via small claims is that if you lose, you
will not have to pay the other sides legal costs, unless you have been particularly
reckless in bringing the claim to court. The only charges you will incur is issuing
the court summons itself, which can be done on-line:-
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk

The Fast Track and the Multi Track

As well as the small claims track there are two other types of civil court
processes, which may involve a longer and more complex court hearing.

Fast Track trials can last anywhere from an afternoon to a few days. They are not
informal and without legal representation it’s possible you could lose your trial if
you make mistakes.

Multi Track is reserved for complex cases and can last from a few days to a few
weeks!

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Unlike small claims and fast track where the decision will be made by a judge,
some multi track claims involve a fully sworn in jury! Cross examinations of
witnesses, expert testimony and summing up. Without legal representation the
odds of a successful outcome could be firmly against you.

However, multi track trials tend to be reserved for very serious claims against the
police, or where there is little evidence and it is left up to the jury to decide
which side is telling the truth.

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Letter Before Claim

A letter before claim (or letter of action) is a notice of intent to begin court
action. It is the first step you must take when demanding compensation from
the police.

In some cases, this letter alone can be enough to achieve a payout.

If the incident you are complaining about clearly falls within one of the causes of
action listed in the last chapter, the police may wish to negotiate a settlement
with you without having to endure the expense and embarrassment of court
proceedings. Especially if they know they are likely to lose.

This is not always the case and you should consider carefully before sending the
letter whether or not you have solid grounds for a successful claim and - if it
should come to it - if you would be willing to go to court.

Writing a letter before claim

Your letter before claim should be the first indication that you intend to take the
police to court and will be a document that all negotiation and any subsequent
court claim will be based upon, so get it right.

It should not be used as an opportunity to make additional complaints or voice

your opinions. It is a legal notice. A statement of intent. It should be carefully
thought out, logical in reason and devoid of irrelevancy or emotion.

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Sending this letter is one of the first steps in the civil procedure rules. If you don’t
warn your opponent in advance that you will taking them to court, the judge
could throw out your claim before you get started.

A letter before claim should include the following:

• A brief outline of the wrong that has been done to you

• What the ‘cause of action’ is you are suing for (assault, battery, wrongful imprisonment
etc)
• The amount of compensation that you are seeking
• The evidence that you will be relying upon in court
• The civil procedure rules that the letter has been issued under
• A time limit that you expect a response by
• Your intention to issue a court claim should the police fail to negotiate a satisfactory
settlement with you

Don’t worry if this all sounds a bit daunting. The information you should include
is much more basic than you may think, and much of it can be cut and pasted
from samples of letters before claim available on line.

Here is our own example of a letter before claim. Feel free to use it as a template.
We have highlighted in bold the sections that you can cut and paste directly,
without having to amend the information.

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Letter before claim sample

From: Mr. A Complainant ! Today’s Date

Address Line 1
Address Line 2
Address Line 3
Postcode

To: Chief Constable Name

Police Force
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
Address Line 3
Postcode

LETTER BEFORE CLAIM

This notice is to inform you that I intend to make a claim in the County Court
against the Chief Constable of (name police force) who I hold vicariously liable
for the wrongful arrest, assault and battery committed by his employee/s (name
officers involved) against myself.

On (date) I was the victim of an unlawful stop and search conducted by (officer name) at
(place) at approximately (time). The entire incident was filmed on my mobile phone
whereby (officer name) subjected me to a false imprisonment by detaining me contrary
to section 4.3A, section 2.9 and section 2.11 of PACE.

This incident culminated in (officer name) committing battery by grabbing my arm and
marching me toward his police vehicle where I was forced to undergo an unlawful
search.

For the multiple trespasses to the person suffered I am asking for a total compensation
of £1000. This has been calculated at £500 for the false imprisonment and a further
£500 for aggravated damages for mental distress caused by the assault and battery.

I intend to submit the following evidence to the court to substantiate my claim:

• Mobile phone video recording of the entire event

• Witness statement made by (witness name) who was at the scene

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If you require any copies of the above documents or recordings then please
contact me so that I may forward them onto you.

In compliance with CPR section 2 I would be happy to consider an alternative

dispute resolution that would be practical and mutually agreeable to resolve this
matter.

In closing, I would draw your attention to section II (4) of the Practice Direction
which gives the courts the power to impose sanctions on the parties if they fail to
comply with the direction including failing to respond to this letter before claim.

I request a full response to this letter within 28 days or I shall have no alternative
except to begin court action with no further reference to yourself.

Yours Faithfully

A. Claimant

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Who are you asking compensation from?

Although you have a right to sue a police officer personally, the general practice
is to sue the respective police force. This is because the force will have much
deeper pockets than an individual officer.

Furthermore, an individual officer would be more likely to fight the claim rather
than face the prospect of being personally discredited as well as being
financially plundered.

Also, if the police officer could demonstrate financial hardship the court would
have to take this into consideration and could end up awarding much lower
damages than if you had sued the force.

Vicarious liability

The term vicarious liability is used to describe a situation whereby the

employer (the police force) is to be held responsible for the actions of its
employee (the offending officer).

When suing the police, you would address your letter - and any subsequent
claim - to the Chief Constable of the targeted force. The Chief Constable is the
highest ranking officer in each force (except for the Metropolitan Police and the
City of London where it is the Commissioner).

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The Chief Constable is considered to be the ‘employer’ of all of his police staff
and therefore would be the person to hold vicariously liable for the actions of his
officers, and the person you would sue.

This doesn’t mean that - if it came to a trial - the chief constable himself would
appear in court. Nor would compensation come directly from his pocket. A legal
team would represent the chief constable and any compensation awarded
would be taken from police funds.

Sending your letter before claim

Each force may have a different address that legal letters should be mailed to,
but in general you can send your letter to the generic postal address that all
individual police forces maintain (See our earlier list of force website and phone
numbers).

You should send your letter via a registered mail service so that you have proof
of its despatch and delivery. You do not have to address it to the Chief Constable
and can instead label it for the attention of the legal team.

If you have any difficulty obtaining the police’s mailing address then you should
e-mail it to PSD department as an attachment and consider it has having been
served!

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Mediating with the police

After sending your letter before claim you must wait to hear the response from
the police. You should get a reply from a solicitor or a member of the legal team
rather than a police officer.

The court will have expected you to have entered into any reasonable
negotiation with the police to bring about a settlement. This is known as
mediation and again, is a necessary part of the civil procedure rules.

The police may outwardly refuse a compensation settlement. Or they may write
back to let you know that they are looking into the matter. Either way you
should maintain your communication with the police in a businesslike and co-
operative manner. Don’t write or say anything that you wouldn’t want read out
in court. You should demonstrate your willingness to resolve the matter
amicably at all times.

If the police offer you a settlement, lower than what you asked for, you should
give it serious consideration. It is up to you to decide if an offered sum is
derisory. But bare in mind, if you hold out and refuse to accept a reasonable
offer (or the police outwardly refuse to pay a penny), then the only resolution is
to proceed to court.

Only you can decide how far you wish to pursue your claim. Sending out a letter
before claim does not mean that you have began the court process and you are
free to abandon your demands at this stage.

But if you have come this far, then it may well be worth the extra push toward
the courtroom. As sometimes, just the issuing of a summons will be enough for

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the police to decide to settle out of court. And as the next chapter
demonstrates, there are plenty of options available when it comes to seeking
out free legal help...

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Getting Free Legal Help

Should you decide that you cannot resolve your claim without bringing the
matter to court, then you should consider obtaining legal help.

Unfortunately, due to the government restrictions on legal aid, it can be very

difficult obtaining any kind of state funding to pursue a civil claim. But there are
still plenty of options available to those who wish to pursue the police in court
who cannot afford to pay for legal services out of their own pocket.

Home insurance - legal cover

Do you have contents insurance? If so then you may already have legal cover.
This means that if you bring a claim to court (or defend yourself against a claim)
your insurance company may cover all of the costs.

Legal cover isn’t compulsory when taking out home insurance, but it is
sometimes included as part of a standard policy, or can be purchased as an add-
on to an existing policy. The amount you can claim in legal expenses varies from
policy to policy, which can be anywhere from £10,000 to £1.5m. You should
check the terms and conditions of your policy if you are unsure what type of
cover you have.

If you do have full legal cover this doesn’t mean you can automatically pursue a
court claim and stick your insurers with the bill at the end of it. You must seek
pre-approval from your insurers before mounting a claim. They will only agree to

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finance it if it can be shown that you have a reasonable chance of winning in

court.

What may seem like a reasonable chance of success to you, may not seem
reasonable to the insurers. It can be a common tactic of some insurers to flatly
reject every claim for legal costs. This may mean having to write an appeal letter
to the insurers insisting that your claim has every chance of success and that
failing to provide the cover they promised can be considered a breach of
contract. You can then raise a dispute with the Financial Ombudsman Service.

You cannot purchase legal cover for a claim, where the event happened in the
past and you have decided you now want to sue. If the incident that gave rise to
the claim pre-dates your insurance policy then you can still obtain insurance to
cover the other sides legal costs (if you lose). This is known as after the event
cover, the premiums of which can be quite high. Having this type of insurance
will prevent you from bankrupting yourself in the event of bringing an
unsuccessful claim that results in a full trial.

Legal aid - exceptional funding scheme

Legal aid helps cover the costs of legal advice for people who cannot afford it. It
is commonly used to pay solicitors and agencies who advise people on their
legal problems or represent them in court.

In 2013 the government introduced huge cuts in the legal aid budget with the
introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act
2012 (LASPO). This meant that legal aid became unavailable for all but a
handful of civil cases.

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As a precaution (and to protect the government from being sued in the

European Court for a breach of Article 6 of the Human Rights Act: right to a fair
trial) the government introduced an ‘exceptional funding scheme.’

This scheme allows legal aid funding to anyone who, without it, would suffer a
breach, or be at risk of a breach, of their human rights or European Union law
rights.

What this means is you must be granted legal aid if you can show that you do
not have the funds to pay your own legal fees and that your case would be
impossible to bring without the help of the scheme.

The downside to this is that it requires the submission of a fourteen page form,
complete with a detailed explanation of your circumstances, and a valid means
and merits form disclosing your income. This may mean employing the services
of a solicitor, just to fill in the forms!

On average the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) - who process the forms - take
approximately 4 days to decide an application. If an application is rejected you
can appeal against the decision. If your application is granted, any costs incurred
employing a solicitor to fill in the exceptional funding scheme forms will also be
reimbursed.

The application form can be downloaded from the gov.uk website here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/
file/369115/legal-aid-civ-ecf1.pdf

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It must be submitted to the Exceptional Case Funding team at the Legal Aid
Agency along with other financial means and merits forms:

Legal Aid Agency

Head office
Address:
102, Petty France, 8th Floor, 8.37, London, SW1H 9AJ, England
Tel:
0203 545 8909

A full list of Legal Aid Agencies around the country can be found here.
http://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/organisation/offices/490582/legal-aid-agency

No Win No Fee Solicitors

No win no fee solicitors have got a lot of bad press over the years. Especially in
the field of personal injury claims where their ruthlessness with both client and
defendants have put many in fear of a compensation culture. With police claims
they have an equally poor track record.

NWNF solicitors will commonly only assist those who are guaranteed high
payouts and are almost certain to win. These usually involve serious assaults or
where somebody has been unfairly locked up in a jail cell for several days.

Worst of all, they have a habit of discouraging individuals from making claims,
simply because the solicitor doesn’t think the payout will be worth the trouble.

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Therefore, the general rule when making enquiries with a NWNF solicitor is just
because they say no, it doesn’t mean your claim doesn’t have a chance.

On the plus side, some NWNF solicitors can be quite flexible with their terms. If
they think your resulting payout may be fairly low, they may offer to represent
you under a different type of agreement. That way they can ensure they will be
paid for their time and you will in turn receive the largest percentage of any
damages awarded to you. On the downside, some agreements may mean that
you will have to take out an insurance premium. That way, if you should lose, you
(or your solicitor) won’t get stuck with paying the other side’s legal costs. As we
have already explained, these premiums can be quite pricey, so whenever you
consider using the services of a NWNF lawyer you must do your homework very
carefully. You need to find out every type of charge that may be taken from any
compensation you win, and ensure there are no hidden costs to yourself should
you lose.

Some NWNF lawyers may even be willing to help you find a pro bono barrister
who will represent you in court, or help you obtain legal aid funding when it
appears none is available.

Just bear in mind that contrary to their misleading title, none of these solicitors
have any desire to work for free. They will often reavaluate their chances of
winning all the way up to the courtroom steps, and there have been many a
claimant that have found themselves abandoned at the last moment due to a
get-out-clause in fine print.

If a NWNF solicitor is breathless in his enthusiasm to fight your case and rate a
high chance of success, it may pay you to employ a solicitor through ordinary
means. That way you not only will you get to keep all of the compensation
awarded to you, your solicitor will most likely be awarded all of his costs at the
losing side’s expense.

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A list of suitable NWNF lawyers can be found on the internet by searching for
those who specialize in police claims. As these solicitors often publicize the
successes they have on their websites, you may be able to locate some of the
people they have represented to find out if they were happy with the services
provided.

Pro Bono Lawyers

Pro bono lawyers are legal professionals willing to assist members of the public
for free. Pro Bono comes from the latin ‘pro bono publico’ which means ‘for the
public good.’ They can also comprise of law students, paralegals and commercial
legal advisers.

Lawyers that undertake pro bono work do so by giving free advice at drop in
clinics, helping charities with legal issues, preparing documents or agreeing to
represent someone in court.

The Bar Pro Bono Unit

http://www.barprobono.org.uk/

The Bar Pro Bono Unit (BPBU) has over 2,000 barristers on its panel with a wide
range of experience, including 250 QCs (Queens Counsels). In 2014 they gave
legal assistance in over 1,120 cases to members of the public.

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The BPBU will only help if public funding isn’t available and you do not have the
means to pay privately. However you cannot make your own application and to
qualify for help, you must be referred to the BPBU by one of the following:

• A solicitor
• Your local MP
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• A Law Centre

They also require a minimum of 3 weeks’ notice of any deadlines (such as court
dates) from the date they have received all relevant information.

If you are successful in your application then a barrister may agree to represent
you in court, provide legal advice and draft documents. In most cases however,
they will only agree to a maximum of 3 full days free work. After that you would
have to reapply.

LawWorks
http://www.lawworks.org.uk/

The Law Society - the organisation that represents and governs solicitors in
England and Wales - also runs a pro bono solicitor scheme called LawWorks.

It does this via a series of legal clinics around the country which provide free
initial advice to those who need it. Appointments are scheduled to last no
longer than 45 minutes and are a good place to get basic level advice and
guidance.

You must however be able to prove that you are on a low income or in receipt of
benefits, evidence of which you must bring to the scheduled appointment.

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For a full list of solicitors that participate in the scheme visit the LawWorks
Clinics Network here:
http://www.lawworks.org.uk/clinics

The Law Centres Network

http://www.lawcentres.org.uk

There are 44 law centres in England offering legal advice, casework and
representation to individuals and groups.

They specialize mostly in social welfare causes such as housing and benefits but
they also help people who are bringing civil claims or defending themselves
against claims.

To find your nearest law centre visit their website or call Community Legal
Advice on 0845 345 4 345.

Citizens Advice
www.citizensadvice.org.uk

The most well known of all free legal advisories. The problem is, due to their
popularity, getting an appointment with a Citizens Advice Bureau can be
notoriously difficult.

The Citizens Advice website does have an online web chat service where you
can speak directly to an advisor, but the service is rarely available.

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https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/web-chat-service/

The good news is that many regional branches of the CAB have their own
websites and will accept e-mail enquiries. Although they are community based,
if you cannot get a response from your own local CAB it may well be worth e-
mailing one in another town.

Litigant in Person

There is no obligation upon anyone to have a legal representative in court. If you

so choose you can represent yourself. This is known as litigant in person which
is in effect acting as your own solicitor. Of course, this isn’t ‘legal help’ but it most
certainly is free and something that more and more people are attempting
successfully these days.

If you choose to represent yourself in anything other than a small claims court
then you will have to put together your own case, file your own claim form and
state your case to the judge. Unlike small claims, you will be expected to
understand a little about the court process and to have done your homework.

It may sound formidable but with careful preparation and research, it’s possible
to defeat the mightiest of opponents in court, even those equipped with a team
of expensive lawyers!

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The courts have even prepared a free handbook for those brave enough to
attempt representing themselves called ‘A Handbook for Litigants in Person’
which is available for free download here:

https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/publications/handbook-litigants-person-
civil-221013/

Understanding the legal system and studying the appropriate case law is by no
means easy and should not be undertaken lightly. You really would need both
confidence and passion, as well as the time (and desire) to apply yourself to a
crash course in law. But if you search the catalogues of your local library
diligently you are likely to find a wealth of beginners texts on the civil law, torts
and making county court claims.

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More Help On Police Matters

If you require any further help with any of the matters raised in this Ebook then
please visit the Crimebodge website, where we provide articles, humour and
resources to assist anyone who has experienced abuses of authority by the
police.

You can also e-mail us at [email protected] with your questions and we will
always do our best to help.

Meanwhile, please take a look at some of our other Ebooks which we consider
essential reading for anyone who is considering making a claim against the
police, or acquiring skills in protecting yourself from their abuses of authority

What Do The Police Have On You

by Rob Warner

The police routinely collect data on almost everyone they come into
contact with. If you have telephoned the police, made a statement, been
stop and searched, questioned without arrest, charged and prosecuted
then the police will have retained information in relation to this.

‘WHAT DO THE POLICE HAVE ON YOU’ reveals in depth all the different
types of data that the police collect and process. Records, notes, files,
computer data, personal identifiers. You will be amazed at just how much
data the police store and you can obtain, what the information is used for
and how it can be used against you.

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You Have A Right to Remain Silent

by Rob Warner

No matter where you are, no matter what the situation, when it comes to
talking to the police – as suspect or victim – it always pays to say as little as
possible.

This short ebook is an invaluable guide to defending yourself against the

police with SILENCE. Including advice and tips on:
• How to maintain silence under police questioning
• How the police gather intelligence from what you say
• Why you should be cautious of what you say as a victim or witness
• Your right to decline a police interview after arrest
• How to maintain silence under stop and search
• How to avoid adverse inference
• Your rights not to self-incriminate

© All content Rob Warner (Crimebodge.com) 2015

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