Complaints and Police Authority Reviews (appeals)
How to make a complaint
City of London Police
This page sets out the ways to make a complaint about crime and policing bodies in the City of London. It is important to select the right point of contact so your issue can be handled as quickly as possible.
- To make a complaint about the City of London Police Force, make a formal complaint through the City of London Police website.
- To make a complaint about Action Fraud, consult the complaints policy on the Action Fraud website.
- If you are unhappy with the outcome of a previous complaint you have made about the City of London Police Force you may be able to seek a review (an appeal) by the Police Authority. Use the guide below to check if your issue is eligible.
- To make a complaint about a member of staff in the Corporation’s Police Authority team, email the City’s Police Authority team.
- If you are not sure what to do or you need more information, contact the IOPC or an organisation such as your local Citizens Advice Bureau. You can also talk to a legal adviser.
Checking if the outcome of your complaint is eligible for a review
The date of your original complaint determines whether you can apply for a review as new laws on the process have taken effect from 1 February 2020.
If your complaint was made before 1 February 2020 you may have a right of appeal. You will be told about your right of appeal and how to make one in your outcome letter, which the City of London Police Force will send you after they have handled your complaint. Find out more about making an appeal.
If your complaint was made on or after 1 February 2020 and you are unhappy about the outcome or the way it was handled then you can apply for a review:
- You need to apply for review within 28 days of receiving the outcome of your complaint or it won’t be accepted, unless there are exceptional circumstances for the delay.
- You must apply in writing and state the following:
- Details of the original complaint
- Date on which the complaint was made
- Name of the force or local policing body whose decision you want reviewed
- Date on which you were provided with details about the right of review
- To request a review, email the City’s Police Authority team or write to the
City of London Corporation
Guildhall, PO Box 270
London EC2P 2EJ
- Please note that the City of London Police Authority does not review issues relating to Action Fraud – details of how to make a complaint about this service are given above.
You will also be told about your right to review and which body you need to apply to in your outcome letter from the City of London Police Force. In some circumstances you may not have a right of review, this will be explained in the letter.
How the complaint review process works
A complaint review will not reinvestigate the merits of the original complaint, as this is not allowed under statutory guidance from the IOPC.
The Police Authority will look at how the City of London Police Force handled your complaint and whether the outcome provided was reasonable and proportionate. Further detail on what this means can be found in IOPC’s guidance.
If the Police Authority determines the outcome was not reasonable and proportionate the review will be upheld, meaning the service provided by the City of London Police was not acceptable and that the Authority may, where appropriate, make recommendations for improvement.
If you have any further questions or concerns about the review process or a review you have submitted, please email the City’s Police Authority team .
Complaints data
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) produces public quarterly complaints data for all Police Services in England and Wales. City of London Police data is available on the IOPC website
The IOPC also presents information about complaints defined under the Police Reform Act 2002, as amended by the Police and Crime Act 2017. The new legislation came into effect on 1 February 2020. The data will set out performance against a number of measures and compares force results to their most similar force group and with the overall result for all police force areas in England and Wales.
The Police Complaints Information Bulletin has been produced by the IOPC for the period 1 April 2021- 31 March 2022 that covers information about complaints, allegations and appeals recorded and/or finalised under the previous legislation. The City of London Police Performance information is included within the City of London Police Authority Annual Review of Police Complaints Activity – 2021/22, which can be found below.