Complaint allegations against Thames Valley Police officers rise significantly, new research shows

The number of complaint allegations made against police officers at Thames Valley Police rose by 73 per cent in one year, according to new research.

Data based on statistics listed by the Home Office, shows the number of misconduct allegations increased in the policing area.

Mobile company, Movius.ai, found that there were 4,585 complaint allegations made against police officers at Thames Valley Police in the year to March 2022, compared to 2,649 in the previous year.

It was the police force with the sixth highest number of complaint allegations against its police officers in England Wales.

The number of cases of complaints made against police officers in England and Wales overall also rose in the same year. Overall, 87,786 allegations were made and 48,979 cases were recorded compared to just 14,393 complaint cases in the previous year – a rise of 240 per cent.

Since 2021, a string of public scandals involving police officers, such as the Sarah Everard case, have helped to cast doubt on the reputation of policing across England and Wales. A recent Channel 5 documentary, ‘Wayne Couzens: Killer in Plain Sight’, has recently shed new light on Sarah Everard’s case and highlighted several ‘red flags’ that were not adequately investigated prior to her murder. This included WhatsApp messages that joked about rape, which Couzens shared with several of his colleagues.

“More people are coming forward to make police complaints following cases such as Sarah Everard’s, and our research suggests the public is becoming increasingly concerned about police discrimination and how officers are communicating over sensitive issues,” said John Clear, vice president at Movius.

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “We would like to take the opportunity to assure the public that we are working hard to build trust and confidence and we take all complaints against officers seriously and use these to seek to improve the service we provide.”

The spokesperson also highlighted that complaints recorded by the police force rose 8.5 per cent, in comparison to the greater increase in allegations, where one complaint may contain many different allegations.