Detention and interrogation

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1.2 Assignment

Roxanne Slevin

Explain how Tom could make a complaint against the police and consider whether he could sue the police

        The police are accountable to the Chief Constable and the Local Police Authority (LPA); this is made up of local councillors and magistrates. The function of this is to maintain an efficient and effective force, which are all effectively answerable to the Home Secretary. They are not above the law and therefore must operate within the law. They have specific powers and their behaviour is regulated by the codes of practice contained in PACE. However, on the event that a police officer does not abide by these rules, under PACE, a complaint can be made to the force to the Independent Police Complaints Commission 2004 (IPPC). If a criminal offence is found then the DPP is informed, who will decide whether to proceed with a prosecution. There are two means of redress: the complaints process and civil action.  

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         In order to lodge a complaint, the complainant needs to submit it in writing to the police force in question. The chief constable then decides how the complaint should be dealt. This could either be by means of an informal resolution or a formal resolution. An informal resolution is merely an apology and an explanation; as long as this is satisfactory then this is acceptable. If the complainant is still unhappy, or it involves a serious matter, there will be a full investigation and depending on the seriousness the IPPC can either: take no further action, take management action such ...

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