If you complain about Kent Police and ask for a review, the reviewing body found the force's original outcome was not reasonable and proportionate in 18.6% of 285 completed reviews in 2024/25, the 30th highest of 43 forces and 5.9 points below the national figure of 24.5%. Kent Police recorded 48,772 stop and searches between 2023-07 to 2026-06, and 65.2% ended in no further action.

18.6%

of completed reviews found Kent Police's own complaint outcome was not reasonable and proportionate

IOPC, 2024/25. 53 of 285 reviews.

497

complaint cases per 1,000 employees

IOPC, 2024/25. 3,480 cases, 6,999 employees.

65.2%

of stop and searches ended in no further action

data.police.uk, 2023-07 to 2026-06. 31,255 of 47,935 recorded outcomes.

143

searches involved removal of more than outer clothing

data.police.uk, 2023-07 to 2026-06.

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Fact 7 of 10

Kent Police recorded 19,444 use of force reports in 2024/25, against a workforce of 6,999.

Source: Home Office use of force statistics and IOPC, 2024/25. Figures as published; see the tables on this page for the full denominators.

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Before you share this. This is a statistic reproduced from an official publication, not an allegation against any officer or force, and not a finding of wrongdoing. Share it with the source attached, which is why the source is included in the share text. Do not add claims of your own to it, what you write alongside a figure is yours, not ours, and you are responsible for it. Numbers are as published at the date shown and may be restated later by the body that published them.

Complaints about Kent Police

Complaint cases logged	3,480
Employees	6,999
Cases per 1,000 employees	497.2 (10th of 44)
Review applications to the local policing body	244
Review applications to the IOPC	47

Where reviews found the outcome was not reasonable and proportionate

Route	Reviews completed	Outcome overturned	Rate
Local policing body, complaint not investigated	223	34	15.2%
IOPC, complaint investigated	48	14	29.2%

Stop and search by Kent Police

Searches recorded	48,772
Period	2023-07 to 2026-06
Months of data	36 of 36
Ended in no further action	65.2%
More than outer clothing removed	143

What Kent Police searched people for

Stated object of search	Searches
Controlled drugs	26,818
Stolen goods	6,009
Offensive weapons	5,244
Article for use in theft	5,242
Detailed object of search unavailable	2,529

Who Kent Police searched

Officer-defined ethnicity	Searches	Share
White	34,152	73.4%
Other	4,424	9.5%
Black	3,622	7.8%
Asian	2,243	4.8%
Mixed	2,061	4.4%

Calculated over the 46,502 searches where an officer recorded an ethnicity, which is 95.3% of all searches by this force.

Compared with who lives in the Kent Police area

Ethnic group	Share of searches	Share of residents	Ratio
Other	9.5%	1.3%	7.3x
Black	7.8%	3.1%	2.5x
Mixed	4.4%	2.4%	1.8x
Asian	4.8%	4.7%	1.0x
White	73.4%	88.6%	0.8x

What this ratio is and is not. It compares the share of searches to the share of people resident in this force area at the 2021 Census. It takes no account of who is present in a place rather than living there, which matters most in city centres and transport hubs. A ratio above one means a group is searched more often than its resident share, and that is a pattern requiring explanation, not evidence of discrimination in itself. Groups under 0.5% of the resident population are omitted because the figure becomes unstable. Every force compared.

Use of force by Kent Police

Year	Use of force reports	Relative volume
2020/21	14,699
2021/22	12,891
2022/23	11,050
2023/24	15,583
2024/25	19,444

Recorded use of force by Kent Police has risen 32.3% 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	685
Of which discharged	69
Share actually discharged	10.1%

Most recorded Taser use is drawing, aiming or red-dotting rather than firing. The share actually discharged is the figure worth knowing.

Complaining to Kent Police

Complaints go to the force first. Use its own official channel so the complaint is recorded properly and you get written confirmation.

Telephone: 101Non-emergency number. Always call 999 in an emergency.

Build a complaint letter for Kent Police

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.

How to complain about the police

Kent 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.

Jail sentence for Broadstairs drug dealer found asleep next to cocaine Kent Police · 30 Aug 2026
Closure order issued to Swanley home Kent Police · 30 Aug 2026
CCTV released after Gravesend restaurant burglary Kent Police · 29 Aug 2026
Football club postpones Bank Holiday games amid police investigation Kent Online · 29 Aug 2026
Investigation ends into Sheerness police drone crash BBC · 29 Aug 2026

Sources

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 29 August 2026, 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.