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The Guernsey Police Complaints Commission believes there is scope for enhancing its responsibilities to help bolster public confidence in the complaints process and the Force itself.
The Commission is an independent panel that oversees complaints against the Guernsey Police and its officers. It has provided a handful of recommendations for its continued development in its annual report for 2021 and 2022, which has now been published.
“The Commission [has] a unique insight in to the Force and recognise[s] that complaints often help to identify learning and development opportunities,” it says.
“The Commission is keen to work with the Chief Officer of Police to consider how it may support any new processes and importantly how the public might be more informed of how the issues they raise contribute to change.
“[The Commission] continue[s] to believe that there is scope for enhancing the Commission’s responsibility to better support the original objectives of the police complaints process; that is to ensure public confidence in the complaints process and the Force in general.”
The Commission supervised three investigations into complaints in 2021. It also registered three appeals in the same year, none of which were upheld.
In 2022, the Commission oversaw 16 complaints and dealt with six appeals, one of which was upheld.
The Chairman of the Commission, Robert Jordan, said there’s a good reason for the increase in complaint investigations supervised by the Commission in 2022.
“The Commission has seen an increase in cases referred to it as a result of an adjustment in how the police assess the complaints received and we hope this has the effect of increasing public confidence in the system that is in place,” he said.
The Commission and its commissioners are funded by the Committee for Home Affairs. In 2021 the expenses incurred by the Commission totalled £2,778.67, in 2022 that figure was £4,942.
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