A NATIONAL rise in the number of complaints against police has been bucked in North Yorkshire, where complaints have decreased.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has today (Wednesday, October 7) published its annual police complaints statistics.

It shows in 2014/15 there were 37,000 complaints made in England and Wales, a six per cent overall increase on the previous year.

But North Yorkshire Police saw complaints go down by five per cent, from 544 to 517.

Detective Superintendent Maria Taylor, who leads North Yorkshire Police’s professional standards unit, said they were pleased with the reduction, but the important issue was how complaints were dealt with.

“The vast majority of complaints received by North Yorkshire Police are about low-level issues – for example, someone querying why it is taking time to return property used in an investigation,” she said.

“For these types of issues we have changed our process to put the focus on resolving issues quickly where we can, rather than automatically putting everything through a full complaints procedure which takes longer, and can be out of proportion to the actual issue.”

The report also highlighted wide inconsistencies in the way police forces handle complaints. Dame Ann Owers, chair of the IPCC, said the underlying problem was “the system itself”, which was unsatisfactory for both those who needed it and those who operated it.

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, agreed.

“The IPCC are clear that complaints in North Yorkshire are dealt with pretty well,” she said.

“There is always more that can be done, including resolving complaints quicker than the three month average, and I know the Deputy Chief Constable strives to make the complaints process as simple and fair as possible.

“Dame Anne Owers is right though, the complaints system itself is the problem at hand, and without the fundamental reform from central government I am fighting for, things can only improve so far.”

Cleveland Police saw a ten per cent increase, rising from 454 complaints to 501. Nobody from the police force was available for comment on the figures.

Durham Constabulary saw a slight increase in the number of complaints it received, from 303 in 2013/14 to 314.

A spokesman for the force said: "We recognise that we can only deliver our service and keep people safe from harm with help and support from the public.

“However, we do appreciate our officers and staff perform a challenging and often dangerous job, and the circumstances of some of those interactions with members of the public will inevitably lead to complaints.

"We will not be complacent and it is always disappointing when someone feels dissatisfied with our service. We treat every complaint seriously and try to consider our actions ‘through the lens of the public’.

“We apologise when appropriate and the lessons we learn from complaints help improve the service we deliver, a process recently described by HMIC as ‘stunning’."