Police complaints in England and Wales hit a record 108,897 as the watchdog points to AI making complaints easier

Poor service drove 55 per cent of all complaints recorded by the 43 forces between April 2025 and March 2026. The 15 per cent rise is the steepest year-on-year increase since the complaints definition introduced in 2020/21 came into effect. David Ford of the Independent Office for Police Conduct urged against interpreting the figures as ones that "solely equate to increased dissatisfaction", noting that forces are also improving how they log complaints.

Police powers and policy made up 22 per cent of complaints, while 11 per cent were directed at individual officers.

Discrimination featured in 5,061 allegations, among them 2,398 relating to race and 1,116 relating to disability.

Ford said AI is making the complaints system "more accessible" for people who previously found it hard to raise concerns.