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Collection

Police super-complaints

The police super-complaints system allows designated organisations to raise issues on behalf of the public about harmful patterns or trends in policing.

Updates to this page

From:
Independent Office for Police Conduct, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and College of Policing
Published:
25 June 2018
Last updated:
29 January 2026
Show all updates

  1. The super-complaint about the length of police investigations into sexual offences, submitted by the Centre for Women's Justice, has been found eligible for investigation. This has been added to the eligible list on this page.

  2. The super-complaint on the police response to stalking has been assessed as eligible for investigation.

  3. Added a new super-complaint to the collection documents

  4. Added this sentence to the Designated bodies section: ‘Designated bodies should collaborate effectively with non-designated organisations and, where appropriate, make a complaint on the basis of the matters raised with it by a non-designated body.’

  5. Moving the super complaint "Police super-complaints: police use of stop and search powers" into the Super-complaints eligible for investigation section.

  6. The new super complaint has been received and added to the new super complaint section

  7. Police super-complaints: Police response to BAME victims of sexual abuse super complaint added to eligible for investigation list

  8. A super-complaint has been added to the collection documents under investigation group The Heading "Super-complaints being assessed" has been removed at the request of the super-complaints team

  9. Updated reference to police super-complaints from the Centre for Women’s Justice on force response to police perpetrated domestic abuse.

  10. Updated super-complaints being investigated.

  11. Updated to add super-complaints

  12. Super complaint received from Liberty and Southall Black Sisters.

  13. Super-complaints system is now operational.

  14. Guidance for making a super-complaint published.

  15. First published.

The police super-complaints system became operational on 1 November 2018.

Please note individuals cannot make super-complaints. Super-complaints can only be submitted by organisations designated by the Home Office. If you have a complaint against the police, please contact the police force in question, or the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Designated bodies may submit super-complaints for consideration by HMICFRS, the College of Policing and the IOPC, and detailed guidance for doing so can be found below.

Any updates, including any super-complaints received, will be published on this page.

For more information, please get in touch at policesupercomplaint@hmicfrs.gov.uk.

Super-complaints eligible for investigation

These are complaints that have been assessed by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary and senior representatives from the IOPC and the College of Policing as being eligible for investigation.

Designated bodies

A 6-week application window opened on 3 April 2018 for organisations wishing to become designated bodies under the police super-complaints system.

Sixteen organisations demonstrated that they met all of the criteria and were designated by the Home Secretary in regulations laid before Parliament on 25 June 2018.

Designated bodies should collaborate effectively with non-designated organisations and, where appropriate, make a complaint on the basis of the matters raised with it by a non-designated body.

Guidance

This guidance explains how to make a police super-complaint, and how police super-complaints will be dealt with.

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