Police matters
We help people raise a concern with the police formally and correctly: complaints, reviews, records, data and property. We do not deal with criminal investigations, interviews or charges.
What this service covers
Police forces in England and Wales have to deal with complaints, requests for personal information and seized property under specific statutory rules. Those rules set out who can ask, what the force must do, how long it has, and who reviews the answer. We use them. We prepare the formal letters and applications that start each process, cite the provision that applies, and keep track of every deadline.
We can help with:
- a complaint about how a police officer or member of police staff behaved, or about the service a force provided
- an application for a review if you are not satisfied with the outcome of a complaint
- a request for the personal information a force, or the Police National Computer, holds about you
- an application to delete police records, or a dispute about a DBS certificate
- a request for the return of property the police have seized or kept
- understanding a police notice or letter, so you know what it is and where to get advice
Every request is made in your name and on your written authority. For a police complaint, the law requires your written consent before anyone can complain on your behalf, and we keep that consent on file.
Choose the type of matter
Complaints and reviews
Complaints about police conduct or service, and applications for review if the outcome is not reasonable and proportionate.
Read morePolice records and data
Requests for the information police hold about you, record deletion applications and DBS certificate disputes.
Read moreReturn of property
Formal requests to a force to return property it has seized or kept, setting out who is entitled to it and why.
Read morePolice notices explained
What fixed penalties, cautions, community protection notices and Single Justice Procedure notices are, and where to get advice.
Read moreWhere each matter goes
| Matter | Who deals with it first | If you are not satisfied |
|---|---|---|
| Complaint about conduct or service | The force's professional standards department | An application for review to the local policing body or the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), usually within 28 days |
| Subject access request | The force, or ACRO Criminal Records Office for the Police National Computer | A complaint to the force, then to the ICO, the data protection regulator |
| Deleting police records | ACRO, with the decision made by the chief officer of the force that owns the record | Evidenced written representations, usually within three months of the decision |
| DBS certificate dispute | The Disclosure and Barring Service | For some enhanced certificate disputes, the Independent Monitor |
| Return of property | The force holding the property | An application to the magistrates' court, which you make yourself or through a solicitor |
What we do
- Draft and lodge complaints about police conduct or service, with your written consent
- Draft applications for review to the police and crime commissioner or the IOPC
- Prepare subject access requests, record deletion applications and DBS certificate disputes
- Write to a force asking for the return of your property
- Explain police notices and paperwork in plain terms
What we do not do
- Attend a police station or interview, or advise you about an interview, an investigation or a charge
- Advise on whether to accept a caution, how to plead, or what to say to the police
- Contact witnesses, alleged victims or anyone else involved in an investigation
- Bring or threaten a court claim against the police, or deal with compensation for injury
- Advise on criminal records for immigration or visa purposes
- Deal with police forces in Scotland or Northern Ireland
Where one of these applies, we tell you where to go instead, such as the duty solicitor, a criminal defence solicitor, a solicitor who handles claims against the police, or Citizens Advice.
Arrested, or asked to attend a police interview?
You have a right to free and independent legal advice at the police station. Ask for the duty solicitor. We cannot advise you about an interview or an investigation.
The right applies whether you have been arrested or have agreed to attend a voluntary interview.
What you tell us is not privileged
Advice from people who are not solicitors or barristers is not protected by legal professional privilege (R (Prudential plc) v Special Commissioner of Income Tax [2013] UKSC 1). What you tell us, and our notes, could have to be disclosed in court proceedings, or could be obtained by the police with a warrant or court order.
Do not tell us about anything you may be investigated for. Tell us only what we need to deal with the complaint, the request or the property.
Common questions
Can you come with me to the police station?
No. Legal advice at a police station is given by solicitors, and by accredited representatives who work for solicitors' firms. We are neither. Ask for the duty solicitor, or for a solicitor of your choice.
Will the police know you are acting for me?
Yes. We write in your name and say that we act on your written authority. The force may ask to see that authority, and it may still contact you directly, for example to talk through a complaint.
Can you get an officer disciplined?
No one outside the police complaints system decides that. A complaint can lead to action about an individual's conduct where the evidence supports it. It can also be resolved in other ways, such as an explanation, an apology or a change in how the force works. See complaints and reviews.
Our status
Appeal Specialists is an independent consultancy, not a law firm. We are not solicitors or barristers and we are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or any other legal regulator, so you cannot complain about us to the Legal Ombudsman.
We provide non-reserved legal services only. We do not conduct litigation, file or serve court documents, or accept service of court documents for you. Where the law allows, we can speak for you at a small-claims hearing or a tribunal, but only with your agreement and, at small-claims hearings, only if you attend.
What you tell us is not protected by legal professional privilege. We never hold your money. We work on matters in England and Wales only. We do not guarantee any outcome.
All correspondence by email
We deal with everything in writing, so every point and every deadline is on the record. If you are replying to a letter from us, please quote our reference.