§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy adopted by the Metropolitan police in selecting officers to investigate complaints by members of the public against police officers; and whether an officer is debarred from investigating a complaint against another officer with whom he has worked within the previous six months.
§ Mr. MayhewInvestigations into complaints made by members of the public against officers of the Metropolitan police are conducted by an officer of at least chief inspector rank. About three quarters of the complaints received are dealt with in the district concerned by a chief inspector appointed to the district complaints unit. More senior officers are appointed to investigate complaints involving officers above the rank of inspector. The most 217W serious complaints are investigated by officers from the central complaints investigation bureau or, where the circumstances of a case appear to the commissioner to warrant it, by an officer from an outside force.
In all complaints care is taken to ensure the impartiality of the investigating officer. A chief inspector appointed to a district complaints unit usually serves there for about 12 months and during the first six months in the unit he does not investigate complaints made against officers from the station to which he was formerly attached.