Police complaints rise by a third

Essex Police said it had dealt with a large number of calls and incidents

Complaints against Essex Police increased by more than a third in the past year, compared with a rise of 8% nationally, a watchdog has said.

Statistics released by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) show there were 908 complaint cases recorded between 2008 and 2009.

This was up from 677 the year before, a 34% rise, the IPCC said.

Essex Police said 908 was "a low figure compared to the number of interactions between the police and the public".

The force received 543,964 calls to its control room and attended more than 447,000 incidents during the period looked at by the IPCC, a statement added.

"Essex Police has a committed and enthusiastic workforce but sometimes we will not meet the expectations of the public," it said.

"The complaints system, overseen by the IPCC, provides a means of redress."

'Neglect of duty'

It added that it was the first force in England to launch the policing pledge, which includes a commitment to the public to acknowledge and record all expressions of dissatisfaction within 24 hours.

More than a third of complaints (36%) to Essex Police between April 2008 and March this year were about "neglect of duty", while the national average was 24%.

A further 15% were about "incivility and impoliteness", compared with the national average of 21%.

The IPCC said these categories covered complaints where people had accused police officers of being rude or abusive, failing to record matters or keep parties informed.

It added that 17% of complaints which were formally investigated were substantiated, which was higher than the national average of one in 10.

Complaints against the force have increased by 101% in the past five years, which the IPCC said was "very much in keeping" with a 97% rise in England and Wales.

IPCC commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: "The public recognise the police have a difficult job to do.

"However this does not alter the fact that they expect officers to do their job politely and efficiently.

"We want to make sure the system focuses on sorting out complainants' concerns and putting things right."