If you complain about North Wales Police and ask for a review, the reviewing body found the force's original outcome was not reasonable and proportionate in 22.6% of 62 completed reviews in 2024/25, the 22nd highest of 43 forces and 1.9 points below the national figure of 24.5%. North Wales Police recorded 11,435 stop and searches between 2023-07 to 2026-06, and 73.4% ended in no further action.

22.6%

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

IOPC, 2024/25. 14 of 62 reviews.

180

complaint cases per 1,000 employees

IOPC, 2024/25. 568 cases, 3,152 employees.

73.4%

of stop and searches ended in no further action

data.police.uk, 2023-07 to 2026-06. 8,010 of 10,908 recorded outcomes.

122

searches involved removal of more than outer clothing

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

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Recorded use of force by North Wales Police has risen 323.1% since 2020/21, from 2,052 reports to 8,681.

Source: Home Office use of force statistics, 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 North Wales Police

Complaint cases logged	568
Employees	3,152
Cases per 1,000 employees	180.2 (41st of 44)
Review applications to the local policing body	28
Review applications to the IOPC	34

Where reviews found the outcome was not reasonable and proportionate

Route	Reviews completed	Outcome overturned	Rate
IOPC, complaint not investigated	30	7	23.3%

Stop and search by North Wales Police

Searches recorded	11,435
Period	2023-07 to 2026-06
Months of data	36 of 36
Ended in no further action	73.4%
More than outer clothing removed	122

What North Wales Police searched people for

Stated object of search	Searches
Controlled drugs	6,580
Offensive weapons	1,503
Stolen goods	997
Evidence of offences under the Act	954
Article for use in theft	645

Who North Wales Police searched

Officer-defined ethnicity	Searches	Share
White	8,307	72.6%
Other	2,895	25.3%
Black	142	1.2%
Asian	91	0.8%

Calculated over the 11,435 searches where an officer recorded an ethnicity, which is 100.0% of all searches by this force.

Compared with who lives in the North Wales Police area

Ethnic group	Share of searches	Share of residents	Ratio
White	72.6%	96.8%	0.8x
Asian	0.8%	1.4%	0.6x

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 North Wales Police

Year	Use of force reports	Relative volume
2020/21	2,052
2021/22	2,776
2022/23	4,513
2023/24	5,358
2024/25	8,681

Recorded use of force by North Wales Police has risen 323.1% since 2020/21. Nationally the total rose 39.4% over the same period, so this force is rising faster than the national trend.

Taser use

Total recorded Taser uses	591
Of which discharged	42
Share actually discharged	7.1%

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

Complaining to North Wales Police

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

North Wales Police official websiteSource: data.police.uk
Telephone: 101Non-emergency number. Always call 999 in an emergency.

Build a complaint letter for North Wales 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

North Wales 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.

Police issue security warning following wave of vehicle break-ins North Wales Live · 30 Aug 2026
Woman 'completely out of control' on cocaine jailed for multiple offences Denbighshire Free Press · 30 Aug 2026
Reason behind large police presence on A55 as two people arrested North Wales Chronicle · 30 Aug 2026
'Good boy' police dog tracks suspected burglar after bolt croppers found on industrial estate North Wales Live · 30 Aug 2026
Drivers warned as police report 'significant increase' in vehicles with no MOT on North Wales roads North Wales Live · 30 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.