A complaint that names the right powers, asks the right questions and lands inside the right deadlines is far harder to brush aside. Here is how the process works, when the police must involve the IOPC, and the dates you cannot miss.
There is no set form. Complain directly to the force's Professional Standards Department, or through the IOPC website (which forwards it to the force), or via your local Police and Crime Commissioner. Keep a copy of everything and note the date you sent it.
Give the date, time and place; officers' names or shoulder numbers if you have them; who was present; and what was said and done, step by step. Attach evidence — photos, video, audio, medical reports, witness details. Facts first; save the argument for the questions below.
Frame your complaint around questions the force must actually answer. Each is built so that a non-answer is itself revealing:
By what specific power did officers enter or remain?
Consent, a warrant, a numbered statutory power, or breach of the peace — which one, and were its conditions met at the time?
Which section of PACE was relied on?
A power of entry or search must have a stated purpose, grounds and limits. Ask which section, and how each condition was satisfied.
If breach of the peace — who, and what imminent violence?
It must be actual or imminent, not the possibility that someone might object. Make them identify the person and the threat.
Was this referred to the IOPC — and if not, why not?
Ask directly. If the matter met a mandatory criterion (below) and was not referred, that is a failure in itself.
Please preserve and produce the footage and logs.
Body-worn video with its audit history, the CAD/999 records and officers' notes. Ask in writing early, so gaps are on the record.
Under Schedule 3, was the outcome reasonable and proportionate?
That is the legal standard the review body must apply. Quote it back when you are dissatisfied with the outcome.
Be specific: a finding, an apology, disclosure of records, referral to the IOPC, a change of practice, or referral of an officer for misconduct. A clear ask is harder to sidestep than a general grievance.
Some matters are not for the force to keep in-house. Under the Police Reform Act 2002 and the Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2020, the "appropriate authority" (usually the force's professional standards department) must refer these to the IOPC — it has no discretion where a criterion is met:
Death or serious injury (a "DSI" matter)
Any death or serious injury following direct or indirect police contact. "Serious injury" means a fracture, a deep cut or laceration, damage to an internal organ, or impairment of any bodily function — including psychiatric injury. Anything in custody or under arrest automatically qualifies.
Serious assault
Conduct amounting to actual bodily harm (ABH) or more serious — including serious psychological harm.
Serious sexual offence
Sexual offences by a person serving with the police (subject to narrow exceptions).
Serious corruption
Including perverting the course of justice and abuse of position — for example abuse of position for a sexual purpose.
Aggravated by discrimination
A criminal offence or misconduct aggravated by discriminatory behaviour on grounds of a protected characteristic — including race, sex, religion, disability and sexual orientation.
A "relevant offence"
An offence whose sentence is fixed by law, or one carrying seven years' imprisonment or more.
Conduct of a senior officer
Complaints about the conduct of an officer above the rank of chief superintendent.
Arising from the same incident
Anything arising from the same incident as any of the matters above must be referred with them.
Where a matter must be referred, the force is required to refer it without delay — the IOPC's statutory guidance sets a deadline of no later than the end of the day after it becomes clear the matter is one that must be referred. If you believe your case met a criterion, ask in writing when it was referred and for the IOPC reference. A missing or late referral is a breach you can raise on review.
The IOPC independently investigates only the most serious and sensitive matters. For most complaints, its role — or your Police and Crime Commissioner's — comes at the review stage, after the force has given you an outcome. A review does not re-investigate the incident; it asks one question: was the outcome of the handling of your complaint reasonable and proportionate?
Your outcome letter must tell you. In broad terms, the IOPC is the review body where the complaint was, or had to be, referred to it; where it concerns a senior officer; where the force could not satisfy itself the conduct wouldn't justify criminal or disciplinary proceedings or wouldn't engage Article 2 or 3; or where it arises from the same incident as one of those. Otherwise the review body is your local Police and Crime Commissioner (often delegated to an independent review manager).
You can only apply once you have received written notification of the outcome and of your right to review.
Within 28 calendar days, starting the day after the date on the outcome letter. Use the IOPC's online or printable review form if the IOPC is your review body; apply in writing to your PCC if it is theirs. Include your force complaint reference and the outcome letter.
Do more than disagree. Point to the questions the force never answered, the records it never obtained, the referral it should have made, and the findings that do not follow from the evidence. That is exactly what the review body is required to weigh.
If this happened to you, your account matters beyond your own complaint — it helps show a pattern. Share what happened, and upload any evidence, anonymously if you prefer.
This page is general information about the system in England and Wales and is not legal advice. Rules and deadlines can change — always check the current guidance on the IOPC website (policeconduct.gov.uk) and, where you can, take advice from a solicitor, Law Centre or Citizens Advice.