Making a Complaint about the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner

The Panel has appointed Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Monitoring Officer to act on the Panel's behalf in receiving complaints, and a Sub-Committee of Panel Members to try to reach informal resolution of complaints. Any reference to the Panel should be read with this in mind.

The Panel aims to:

• handle complaints in a fair and independent way
• deal with complaints as quickly and effectively as it can
• keep all parties informed of progress until the complaint reaches a conclusion

What complaints can the Panel look at?

The Panel is responsible for dealing with complaints about the conduct of the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

"Conduct" means the way things are done or not done, statements are made and the way decisions are taken. Any complaint alleging criminal conduct will first be passed onto the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) for investigation.

Other non-criminal complaints are logged and then handled by the Panel, usually through a process called Informal Resolution.

If you already have an ongoing complaint, the Panel would normally require that complaint process to be completed before it looks into the new matter.

What the Panel is unable to do

There are certain complaints the Panel cannot handle because it does not have the legal power to do so.

There are separate procedures for the following complaints:

• complaints about operational policing matters
• complaints about the Chief Constable
• complaints relating to the administration of the Panel
• complaints relating to the conduct of individual Panel members

If the Panel decides your complaint should be directed to another body because it falls beyond its remit, the Panel will explain why and offer to pass it on.

The Panel cannot consider complaints about the merits of a Police and Crime Commissioner decision, for example where someone disagrees with a policy the Police and Crime Ccommissioner has introduced.

The Panel has no power to investigate complaints in any way, although it may ask the person complained against to provide information or summon them to answer questions.

Submitting a complaint

You can also make a complaint by post by sending your letter with details of the complaint and preferred contact details to:

Monitoring Officer
Legal Services
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Dunedin House
Columbia Drive
Thornaby
Stockton-on-Tees
TS17 6BJ

The Panel cannot accept complaints via Twitter, Facebook or telephone.

You can arrange for someone to act on your behalf, such as a friend or relative. However, you must provide written confirmation that you have given your consent before the Panel can discuss your case with them.