If you complain about Northamptonshire Police and ask for a review, the reviewing body found the force's original outcome was not reasonable and proportionate in 28.4% of 74 completed reviews in 2024/25, the 10th highest of 43 forces and 3.9 points above the national figure of 24.5%. Northamptonshire Police recorded 11,682 stop and searches between 2023-07 to 2026-06, and 81.2% ended in no further action.
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82 people applied for a review of how Northamptonshire Police handled their complaint. 66 went to the local policing body and 16 to the IOPC.
Source: IOPC, 2024/25. Figures as published; see the tables on this page for the full denominators.
Complaints about Northamptonshire Police
| Complaint cases logged | 1,158 |
|---|---|
| Employees | 2,757 |
| Cases per 1,000 employees | 420 (21st of 44) |
| Review applications to the local policing body | 66 |
| Review applications to the IOPC | 16 |
Where reviews found the outcome was not reasonable and proportionate
| Route | Reviews completed | Outcome overturned | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local policing body, complaint not investigated | 63 | 18 | 28.6% |
Stop and search by Northamptonshire Police
| Searches recorded | 11,682 |
|---|---|
| Period | 2023-07 to 2026-06 |
| Months of data | 36 of 36 |
| Ended in no further action | 81.2% |
| More than outer clothing removed | 328 |
What Northamptonshire Police searched people for
| Stated object of search | Searches |
|---|---|
| Controlled drugs | 7,072 |
| Offensive weapons | 1,770 |
| Evidence of offences under the Act | 1,172 |
| Article for use in theft | 902 |
| Stolen goods | 510 |
Who Northamptonshire Police searched
| Officer-defined ethnicity | Searches | Share |
|---|---|---|
| White | 8,632 | 75.3% |
| Black | 2,144 | 18.7% |
| Asian | 598 | 5.2% |
| Other | 84 | 0.7% |
Calculated over the 11,458 searches where an officer recorded an ethnicity, which is 98.1% of all searches by this force.
Compared with who lives in the Northamptonshire Police area
| Ethnic group | Share of searches | Share of residents | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 18.7% | 4.0% | 4.7x |
| Asian | 5.2% | 4.5% | 1.2x |
| White | 75.3% | 87.9% | 0.9x |
| Other | 0.7% | 1.0% | 0.7x |
Use of force by Northamptonshire Police
| Year | Use of force reports | Relative volume |
|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 6,685 | |
| 2021/22 | 7,880 | |
| 2022/23 | 9,033 | |
| 2023/24 | 11,701 | |
| 2024/25 | 10,689 |
Recorded use of force by Northamptonshire Police has risen 59.9% 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 | 781 |
|---|---|
| Of which discharged | 41 |
| Share actually discharged | 5.2% |
Most recorded Taser use is drawing, aiming or red-dotting rather than firing. The share actually discharged is the figure worth knowing.
Complaining to Northamptonshire Police
Complaints go to the force first. Use its own official channel so the complaint is recorded properly and you get written confirmation.
- Northamptonshire 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.
Northamptonshire 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.
- Man, 72, appears in court charged with Sywell murder
- Victim of suspected caravan murder was a 'kind mum'
- Motorcyclist in his 20s seriously injured in Northampton collision with van
- Teenage boy stabbed in busy Northampton street – police appeal for witnesses
- Family tribute to “caring and incredibly kind” mum Sue Lumsden
- 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.