COMPLAINTS against Lancashire Police rose by 13 per cent last year to 877, new statistics show.

The sharp rise in 2013/2014 follows a drop of three per cent in the previous 12 months.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said the rise was partly down to a widening of the definition of the guidelines for grievances.

The 13 per cent rise was below the 15 per cent average increase in complaints for the 43 forces across England and Wales.

Lancashire Police’s 877 cases involved a total of 1,623 separate allegations of misconduct, representing 265 per 1,000 employees against a figure of 251 for all 43 forces.

In 2013/14, Lancashire Constabulary, run by Chief Constable Steve Finnigan, finalised 795 complaint cases in an average of 106 working days, compared to a national average of 101.

Of those cases, where the individual concerned was not happy with how the county forces handled their complaint and appealed to the IPCC, 50 per cent were upheld by the IPCC.

This compared with a four per cent of complaints upheld for those considered by the force itself.

The overall uphold rate by police forces was 20 per cent, compared with 46 per cent by the IPCC.

The IPCC upheld 54 per cent of 41 appeals where people were unhappy Lancashire police had not recorded their complaint, and 47 of 64 appeals from people unhappy with its investigation.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “We welcome the publication of these figures as we recognise that meeting the expectations of the public with whom we deal is critical to maintaining public confidence.

“Officers have thousands of such interactions each day and most end well. Where there are instances of professional standards falling short, it’s imperative to find out why and put it right.

“We are committed to ensuring that high professional standards are maintained and are focused on delivering a quality of service and getting it right first time. On occasions when this does not prove to be the case, we resolve any issues as quickly as possible.

“We are never complacent and act on all forms of feedback, using it as an opportunity to make improvements which will continue to be the focus of the Constabulary.”

An IPCC spokeswoman said: “Some of the increase in 2013/14 is down to the definition of a complaint being broadened beyond an officer’s conduct to include ‘direction and control’ matters to do with operational policing.

“Across England and Wales The most common complaints involve allegations that an officer has been neglectful or failed in their duty, or that an officer’s behaviour has been uncivil, impolite or intolerant.”