§ Mr. Norman Fowlerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints there have been against the police in England and Wales in 1976 and to date in 1977 and how many of these led to disciplinary action or criminal charges.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThese figures are collected from forces on an annual basis and those for 1977 are therefore not yet available. In 1976 22,738 complaints by members of the public were received against members of police forces in England and Wales. Of these, 124 led to criminal proceedings, including proceedings for traffic offences; this figure does not include cases where proceedings were brought after the end of the year. In the same year disciplinary proceedings were brought in 182 cases as a result of a complaint; in some of these the relevant complaint may have been made in an earlier year.