Making a Complaint
The Panel has a legal role to consider non-criminal complaints against the Mayor of West Yorkshire, when acting in relation to their policing and crime functions, and the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC). Below are further details of the Panel's complaints handling process.
The Panel cannot consider complaints regarding operational policing matters or regarding officers of West Yorkshire Police. For further details of how to complain about these services see "What we can't do", below.
When to complain......
If you have a concern about something the Mayor or the Deputy Mayor for Police and Crime (DMPC) has said or done, the first step is to raise it with them. Their contact details are set out below.
If you are still not satisfied, you can make a complaint to us, the Police and Crime Panel. There is a Complaints Form you can download to help you.
Someone can act on your behalf (perhaps a friend or relative) if you give your written permission for them to do so.
What we can do.....
Complaints about the behaviour of the Mayor or their DMPC are dealt with either by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) or by us, the Panel.
We have to record any complaints alleging criminal conduct (or which indicate criminal conduct may have occurred) by the Mayor or their DMPC. We then have to refer these complaints to the IOPC for investigation.
Any other complaints are handled by us, usually through Informal Resolution.
Informal Resolution means encouraging, helping and bringing about the resolution of a complaint without going through legal or formal proceedings.
We can consider complaints about the way a decision has been made or the behaviour of the Mayor or their DMPC, if this has caused problems for you. For example, you may want to complain about the Mayor or their DMPC not following their own rules.
What we can't do......
We can't just question what the Mayor or their DMPC has done simply because you don't agree with it. There must be some alleged fault by the Mayor or their DMPC. For example, you may think that they have not followed the proper process for taking a decision.
There are some things we can't look into because there is a more appropriate body to deal with your complaint, or because we don't have the legal power to do so. If we can't help, we will tell you about other organisations that may be able to help.
In particular, we are not able to deal directly with complaints about the performance of West Yorkshire Police or any of their officers. How such complaints are to be dealt with can be found at www.westyorkshire.police.uk. If you are unsure about whether your complaint is appropriate for the Panel to look into, please contact the PCP Officer on 07920 833358 in the first instance, who will be able to advise you.
Additionally, if you have asked the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) to review the outcome of a complaint that you have made against West Yorkshire Police, please note that the Panel is not a further route for appeal and we don't have the legal powers to examine the outcome of that review.
More Information?
You will be able to find out more information about making a complaint by clicking on the links below:
How We Deal With Your Complaint
Contact details for the Mayor for West Yorkshire in relation to police and crime matters is:
Website: https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/policing-and-crime/
E mail: policingandcrime@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
Telephone: 0113 348 1740
Address: The West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Policing and Crime
Wellington House
40-50 Wellington Street
Leeds
LS1 2DE
Contact details for the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel
Email: pcpofficer@wakefield.gov.uk
Telephone: 07920 833358
Address:
Police & Crime Panel
Wakefield One
Wakefield One
Burton Street
Wakefield
WF1 2EB
Other contact details
West Yorkshire Police Professional Standards Department (for complaints about police officers or police staff):
Website: www.westyorkshire.police.uk
E mail: psd.genenq@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
Telephone: 101
Address: Professional Standards Department
West Yorkshire Police
Laburnum Road
Wakefield
WF1 3QP
Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) (for complaints about alleged or potential criminal matters):
Website: www.policeconduct.gov.uk
E mail: enquiries@policeconduct.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 020 0096 (9.00am to 5.00pm Monday - Friday)
Address: Independent Police Complaints Commission
PO Box 473
Sale
M33 0BW
How To Obtain This Information In Other Formats
Please let us know if you have difficulty using our service: for example if you have a disability or if English is not your first language. If you need a copy of this information and form in another language, we can arrange this. We can also produce information in large print, in Braille or on CD. For further information, telephone 07920 833358.
Downloads
Please see the following related documents to the right hand side of this page:
Dealing with Your Complaint: Flow Chart
Complaints Leaflet
Submit a Complaint