Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 30
30
Deferred
Paragraph: 70
Mandate police forces record, analyse, submit, and publish protected characteristics data on complainants.
Recommendation
We recommend the Home Office requires forces to record data on all protected characteristics of complainants with the aim of achieving a greater understanding of who is making complaints, the outcomes of those complaints, and the extent to which there is disproportionality. Professional Standards Departments should analyse the data and adopt a “reform or explain” approach. To ensure transparency and scrutiny, this data should be submitted to the Independent Office for Police Conduct and made publicly available in a clear and accessible way on a regular basis.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government deflects responsibility by stating that while it provides strategic direction, it is for Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to decide how best to incorporate plans locally, rather than committing the Home Office to requiring data collection on protected characteristics of complainants.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
70
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
42. Responsibility for collecting and publishing data on complainants sits with the IOPC. 43. The policing sector recognises the importance of recording data regarding protected characteristics of complaints and possible areas of disproportionality. Data on the protected characteristics of complainants, including ethnicity, is published by the IOPC as part of its annual statistics publication. The IOPC also produces quarterly bulletins for all police forces.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗