If you complain about Suffolk Constabulary and ask for a review, the reviewing body found the force's original outcome was not reasonable and proportionate in 29.8% of 47 completed reviews in 2024/25, the 8th highest of 43 forces and 5.3 points above the national figure of 24.5%. Suffolk Constabulary recorded 6,599 stop and searches between 2023-07 to 2025-11, and 65.6% ended in no further action.
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Suffolk Constabulary logged 123 complaint cases per 1,000 employees, the 43rd highest of 44 forces.
Source: IOPC, 2024/25. Figures as published; see the tables on this page for the full denominators.
Complaints about Suffolk Constabulary
| Complaint cases logged | 320 |
|---|---|
| Employees | 2,597 |
| Cases per 1,000 employees | 123.2 (43rd of 44) |
| Review applications to the local policing body | 25 |
| Review applications to the IOPC | 33 |
Stop and search by Suffolk Constabulary
| Searches recorded | 6,599 |
|---|---|
| Period | 2023-07 to 2025-11 |
| Months of data | 29 of 36 |
| Ended in no further action | 65.6% |
| More than outer clothing removed | 171 |
What Suffolk Constabulary searched people for
| Stated object of search | Searches |
|---|---|
| Controlled drugs | 4,388 |
| Offensive weapons | 1,012 |
| Article for use in theft | 551 |
| Stolen goods | 485 |
| Articles for use in criminal damage | 90 |
Who Suffolk Constabulary searched
| Officer-defined ethnicity | Searches | Share |
|---|---|---|
| White | 5,304 | 83.2% |
| Black | 561 | 8.8% |
| Other | 308 | 4.8% |
| Asian | 200 | 3.1% |
Calculated over the 6,373 searches where an officer recorded an ethnicity, which is 96.6% of all searches by this force.
Compared with who lives in the Suffolk Constabulary area
| Ethnic group | Share of searches | Share of residents | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 8.8% | 1.3% | 6.8x |
| Other | 4.8% | 0.9% | 5.3x |
| Asian | 3.1% | 2.3% | 1.3x |
| White | 83.2% | 93.1% | 0.9x |
Use of force by Suffolk Constabulary
| Year | Use of force reports | Relative volume |
|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 3,841 | |
| 2021/22 | 4,769 | |
| 2022/23 | 6,281 | |
| 2023/24 | 5,824 | |
| 2024/25 | 4,784 |
Recorded use of force by Suffolk Constabulary has risen 24.6% 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 | 330 |
|---|---|
| Of which discharged | 19 |
| 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 Suffolk Constabulary
Complaints go to the force first. Use its own official channel so the complaint is recorded properly and you get written confirmation.
- Suffolk Constabulary 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.
Suffolk Constabulary 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.
- Charge after police station doors are smashed
- Crackdown on drug activity and dangerous motorbikes on town footpath
- Police investigating unexplained death in Southwold
- Gender Fluid Policies in Suffolk Constabulary
- Lowestoft - missing man found
- Independent Office for Police Conduct, police complaints statistics for England and Wales, 2024/25.
- data.police.uk stop and search API, 2023-07 to 2025-11. Accessed 2026-08-29.
- Home Office police use of force statistics, England and Wales, 2024/25.
Data last refreshed , covering 2023-07 to 2025-11. Every figure on this page is recomputed from the source datasets, not edited by hand. Found something wrong? Tell us.