NEARLY 2,000 allegations have been made against Gloucestershire Constabulary, new data has revealed.

The figures were released by the Independent Office for Police Conduct as they published their annual report for 2020/21.

In the report 1,934 allegations were logged against Gloucestershire Constabulary, including 800 for delivery of duties and services, 56 for discriminatory behaviour, 25 for abuse of position/corruption and two for sexual conduct.

Gloucestershire Constabulary also received 431 complaint cases per 1,000 employees, which is significantly higher than the England and Wales average of 290.

This year’s annual report is the first time these statistics have been published under the new system of recording complaints after the Policing and Crime Act came into force in February 2020.

Therefore, these statistics are defined by the Office for National Statistics as ‘experimental statistics’, as they are a series of statistics that are in the testing phase and not yet fully developed’.

A police complaint is defined as ‘an expression of dissatisfaction by a member of the public about the service they have received from a police force.’

“When a member of the public makes a complaint, it may contain a number of allegations which need to be teased out. As a result, the number of allegations are higher than the complaints made,” said a spokesperson for Gloucestershire Constabulary.

“The Professional Standards Department is thorough at ensuring this is done accurately in order to reflect the complaint being made and they comply to the letter of the IOPC guidance.”

“Gloucestershire Constabulary is also one of the Forces which has a Service Recovery Team and is proactive in trying to recover expression of dissatisfaction quickly, while being open and transparent in recording the complaint.

“The significant changes made to the complaints system since February 2020, which widened the definition, meant the PSD team expected more complaints to be recorded than in previous years.

“When looked at alongside other forces of a comparable size, we are close in number to the level of complaints per 1000 employees. However, without more research and context, it is difficult to accurately interpret the statistics.

Superintendent Jo Mercurio said: “We have a well-established and robust department.

“We are among the top performers for the time taken to record complaints and to contact complainants, which illustrates a willingness to get a grip on dissatisfaction and then to work hard to put it right.”