If you complain about Devon & Cornwall Police and ask for a review, the reviewing body found the force's original outcome was not reasonable and proportionate in 40.1% of 172 completed reviews in 2024/25, the 1st highest of 43 forces and 15.6 points above the national figure of 24.5%. Devon & Cornwall Police recorded 17,557 stop and searches between 2023-07 to 2026-06, and 69.9% ended in no further action.
Share a fact about Devon & Cornwall Police
62.7% of searches by Devon & Cornwall Police were carried out under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Source: data.police.uk, 2023-07 to 2026-06. Figures as published; see the tables on this page for the full denominators.
Complaints about Devon & Cornwall Police
| Complaint cases logged | 1,354 |
|---|---|
| Employees | 6,843 |
| Cases per 1,000 employees | 197.9 (40th of 44) |
| Review applications to the local policing body | 83 |
| Review applications to the IOPC | 60 |
Where reviews found the outcome was not reasonable and proportionate
| Route | Reviews completed | Outcome overturned | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local policing body, complaint not investigated | 114 | 49 | 43.0% |
| IOPC, complaint not investigated | 46 | 16 | 34.8% |
Stop and search by Devon & Cornwall Police
| Searches recorded | 17,557 |
|---|---|
| Period | 2023-07 to 2026-06 |
| Months of data | 36 of 36 |
| Ended in no further action | 69.9% |
| More than outer clothing removed | 373 |
What Devon & Cornwall Police searched people for
| Stated object of search | Searches |
|---|---|
| Controlled drugs | 10,940 |
| Offensive weapons | 3,072 |
| Stolen goods | 1,328 |
| Article for use in theft | 936 |
| Articles for use in criminal damage | 326 |
Who Devon & Cornwall Police searched
| Officer-defined ethnicity | Searches | Share |
|---|---|---|
| White | 15,839 | 93.9% |
| Black | 600 | 3.6% |
| Asian | 274 | 1.6% |
| Other | 163 | 1.0% |
Calculated over the 16,876 searches where an officer recorded an ethnicity, which is 96.1% of all searches by this force.
Compared with who lives in the Devon & Cornwall Police area
| Ethnic group | Share of searches | Share of residents | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.4x |
| Asian | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1.2x |
| White | 93.9% | 96.2% | 1.0x |
Use of force by Devon & Cornwall Police
| Year | Use of force reports | Relative volume |
|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 13,820 | |
| 2021/22 | 15,700 | |
| 2022/23 | 14,685 | |
| 2023/24 | 15,984 | |
| 2024/25 | 18,879 |
Recorded use of force by Devon & Cornwall Police has risen 36.6% since 2020/21. Nationally the total rose 39.4% over the same period, so this force is below the national trend.
Taser use
| Total recorded Taser uses | 722 |
|---|---|
| Of which discharged | 42 |
| Share actually discharged | 5.8% |
Most recorded Taser use is drawing, aiming or red-dotting rather than firing. The share actually discharged is the figure worth knowing.
Complaining to Devon & Cornwall Police
Complaints go to the force first. Use its own official channel so the complaint is recorded properly and you get written confirmation.
- Devon & Cornwall Police official website
- Telephone: 101
What you can do about it
Complaining to a force and bringing a claim against it are different processes with different outcomes. Reviews overturn the force's own finding in roughly a quarter of cases nationally, which makes the review stage worth understanding before you use it.
Devon & Cornwall Police in the news
The five most recent reports mentioning this force, collected automatically. Headlines and links belong to the publishers named. We do not edit, summarise or endorse them, and inclusion here does not imply any finding against anyone.
- ‘Moor’ care urged as police target speeding on Dartmoor
- New images in search for Plymouth suspect John Ralph after armed robberies
- Pedestrian dies after being hit by car on A38 near M5 junction
- Two arrested as police seize suspected drugs in Tresillian
- Dartmoor drivers urged to take 'moor' care after rural police operation
- Independent Office for Police Conduct, police complaints statistics for England and Wales, 2024/25.
- data.police.uk stop and search API, 2023-07 to 2026-06. Accessed 2026-08-29.
- Home Office police use of force statistics, England and Wales, 2024/25.
Data last refreshed , covering 2023-07 to 2026-06. Every figure on this page is recomputed from the source datasets, not edited by hand. Found something wrong? Tell us.