NINE in 10 formal complaints against West Yorkshire Police officers resulted in no misconduct action last year, new figures show.

Police behaviour and misconduct processes have fallen under the spotlight once again following the lack of action against Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick.

Home Office figures show 2,069 misconduct complaints were made against West Yorkshire Police officers and handled under the formal complaints process in the year to April 2022.

Of these, 1,872 (90 per cent) resulted in no action being required against the police officers involved.

Police chiefs pointed out that the officer had dealt with the incident correctly in 79 per cent of these complaint allegations.

Just seven allegations were referred to official misconduct proceedings and six were referred to the reflective practice review process – when an officer’s behaviour falls short of expectations but does not amount to misconduct.

The figures cover the total number of allegations rather than the number of complaints – one complaint could contain several allegations of misconduct.

They do not cover any complaints handled outside the formal process, where it was felt a detailed enquiry was not needed.

West Yorkshire Police say in the year ending March 31, 2022, they finalised 2,649 public complaint allegations - 79 per cent of these the officer dealt with the incident correctly.

The Home Office figures show there were 103 allegations of "conduct matter" offences against West Yorkshire Police officers in 2021-22 – those which are not the subject of a complaint and indicate that an officer may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a way that would justify disciplinary proceedings.

Of them, 29 were referred to official misconduct proceedings and 43 were referred to the reflective practice review process. No action was required in 17 cases.

A further 24 "recordable conduct matter" allegations were made, where it is alleged that an officer's conduct resulted in the death or serious injury of any person.

A decision that no action was required was determined in 11 cases, while eight were referred to misconduct proceedings and two were referred to the reflective practice review process.

Detective Chief Superintendent Nicola Bryar, of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “Our officers interact with thousands of people on a daily basis. The vast majority are satisfied with the service they receive, but when this is not the case it is vital that we have a process in place for members of the public to make a formal complaint.

“In the year ending March 31, 2022, we finalised 2,649 public complaint allegations. Each of these complaints was reviewed and investigated by specialist officers and staff within the Professional Standards Directorate. It was found that in 79 per cent of these complaint allegations, the officer had dealt with the incident correctly.

“We want to continually improve the service we provide to the public and in nearly 200 complaints received last year this resulted in reflective learning. It is important to explain that even when it is identified that there is learning for an individual or the wider organisation or that the complainant should receive an apology or explanation of action taken, this does not necessarily mean that there has been misconduct by any officer involved. 

“The Professional Standards Directorate also investigates conduct matters which are not as a result of a public complaint, which are again assessed and investigated by specialist officers and staff.

“Whether as a result of a public complaint or conduct matter, if it is identified that there has been a potential breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour, a misconduct notice will be served on the officer involved. Following investigation, if it is found that there is a case to answer for gross misconduct, a misconduct hearing will be held which is chaired by an independent barrister or solicitor for extra transparency. 

“In the year ending March 31, 2022, six police officers attended a misconduct hearing and an additional 23 police officers attended a misconduct meeting where the highest sanction imposed is a final written warning.  

“There are also recordable conduct matters which are referred to the IOPC who determine whether the investigation should be independently investigated or subject of a directed investigation by them or whether it should be investigated by the host police force. The decision on the final outcome of these investigations will be determined by the IOPC.”