Guides

Plain-English explanations of how police complaints, reviews and claims actually work.

• What 'no further action' means after a police arrestNo further action means the police closed the investigation without charging you. What that does not decide, and what happens to your arrest record.
• How long does a police complaint take?What the published figures show about how quickly forces log complaints, contact complainants and finalise cases.
• How police complaint reviews work, and who reviews whatIf a force's answer to your complaint does not stand up you can apply for a review. Which body reviews it depends on the complaint, and applying to the wrong one wastes time.
• What happens when you complain about the policeFrom making a complaint to the outcome and any review: the steps, who does what, and what each stage can and cannot get you.
• No further action after a stop and search: what the outcome meansSeven in ten recorded stop and searches end in no further action. What that search outcome means, what it does not mean, and how it differs from an NFA letter after arrest.
• Your rights during a police stop and searchWhat an officer must tell you before searching you, what they can require you to remove, and what to do if none of it happened.