Complaints against West Midlands Police in 10% rise
Complaints against West Midlands Police increased 10 per cent last year, new figures show.
But at the same time those against Staffordshire Police dropped by 11 per cent.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has released the figures, which show a 15 per cent rise across England and Wales.
The IPCC said some of the overall increase could be attributed to the definition of a complaint being broadened out.
In total, there were 1,473 complaints made against West Midlands Police - the third highest in the country behind the Metropolitan Police and Great Manchester Police.
There were 3,377 allegations made against the force, higher than the national average.
People have the right to appeal about the way police force's handled their complaints and almost half of these appeals against West Midlands Police were upheld.
In comparison there were just 310 complaints against Staffordshire Police, down by 11 per cent. It followed a five per cent decrease a year earlier, 2012/13.
There were also 536 allegations made against the force.
IPCC chair Dame Dame Anne Owers said the 15 per cent rise in complaints would not be a cause for concern if it reflected a greater public confidence in the complaints system or improved access to it.
She added: "This is unlikely to be the case.
"The rising number of complaints makes it all the more important that the system is, and is seen to be, fair, accessible and transparent.
"Better public confidence in policing crucially depends on confidence that, where things may have gone wrong, appropriate action will be taken as soon as possible.
"It is clear from these statistics that forces still struggle to get it right first time, and there are now serious questions about whether they get it right the second time either.
"We will continue to work with them to improve complaints handling. But that is not enough.
"We urgently need radical reforms to the system as a whole, to make it more accessible and straightforward, and to strengthen independent oversight.
"That is why the current review of the system is welcome and overdue."
