Complaints against West Midlands Police buck trend.

COMPLAINTS against police in the West Midlands dipped last year in the face of a national rise, new figures by police watchdogs will show.

There were 1,655 complaint cases recorded by West Midlands Police in 2008/09, down from 1,707 the year before.

A fifth of all cases against officers were over issues of incivility and impoliteness, and 18 per cent over claims of neglect of duty, according to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Almost half of allegations were formally investigated and ten per cent were substantiated, resulting in some form of action being taken against officers. More than a third were resolved locally in agreement with the complainants.

Commissioner Len Jackson said: "The public recognise the police have a difficult job to do. However, this does not alter the fact that they expect officers to do their job politely and efficiently.

"We want to make sure the system focuses on sorting out complainants' concerns and putting things right. People accept things will sometimes go wrong and on these occasions do not necessarily want to see an officer punished.

"But what they do want is for the mistake to be acknowledged and not repeated, put right if possible and an apology or explanation given."

Complaints against West Midlands Police have risen by 34 per cent in the last five years.