THERE has been a drop in the number of complaints against Cleveland Police.

Statistics revealed a 19 per cent decrease in the number of allegations, from 322 to 260, in the year to April.

Allegations of oppressive conduct and harassment dropped from 20 to three and accusations of incivility fell from 70 to 20.

But, while decreases were recorded in nine categories, there were slight increases in four categories, including allegations of assault, which went up by ten to 117.

The findings will be discussed by members of the Cleveland Police Authority at a meeting in Middlesbrough, tomorrow.

Councillor Maureen Goosey, chairwoman of the authority's conduct panel, said: "The police have a very difficult and demanding job to do, and get it right most of the time.

"However, the complaints process is there for anyone who feels that they have not got a fair deal."

She said the fall in the number of complaints was evidence that the force had a strong and effective working relationship with the public it served.

Complaints against police officers were down from 40 to 32 in Hartlepool, while they fell from 98 to 77 in Langbaurgh.

There was a drop in complaints, from 111 to 87, in Middlesbrough and a decrease of ten, to 61, at Stockton.

The force received 1,020 expressions of appreciation from people - a rise of 117 compared with the previous year.