Professional Standards

Our Professional Standards Department (PSD) is at the Police Headquarters and is headed by a Detective Superintendent. The department is responsible for vetting, dealing with complaints from members of the public, and investigating misconduct. Our highly trained and experienced police officers and police staff perform various roles, all aiming to build trust and confidence by providing a fair and consistent service to members of the public and to our colleagues. All staff who work within PSD have passed enhanced vetting checks.

The Professional Standards Department is made up of four teams:

Vetting team

The gatekeepers of our force. Vetting is an integral part of keeping our communities and our staff safe. It is the first security measure we test against when people try to get into policing. A small team of highly trained and experienced police staff are led by a Force Vetting Manager. The aim of the Vetting Team is to ensure that only those with the highest standards of honesty and integrity are recruited and, thereafter, to ensure that those standards are maintained.

Complaints, meetings and hearings team

In early 2020, complaints handling was centralised, meaning that all complaints are now recorded and investigated by a small team of Customer Complaints Officers. Centralising complaints means that we can develop our expertise in handling your complaint most effectively and hopefully resolve it for you more quickly. This team is also responsible for carrying out research and admin across the department. It ensures that Misconduct Meetings and Hearings, plus any appeals, run smoothly and follow regulations, policy, and statutory guidance.

Reactive investigations team

A small team of experienced and highly trained police officers and police staff investigate certain criminal allegations such as Domestic Abuse committed by a police employee, and all allegations of gross misconduct and misconduct, arising from public complaints and internal referrals. The team, led by a Detective Chief Inspector, strive also to understand what works well and how to share best practice, as well as any organisational learning arising from complaints and misconduct investigations to ensure we provide the highest standards of service to our communities.

Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU)

Are responsible for managing the risk of corruption to the Constabulary and our employees. This includes collating, evaluating and analysing intelligence about allegations of corruption against police officers and staff. ACU is a covert unit that conducts investigations into misconduct and criminal offences. Corruption within the police service remains uncommon, but when it does occur it has a devastating impact on individuals and the trust and confidence in the police service.

You can thank one of our staff or make a complaint online.

Disciplinary outcomes

Disciplinary outcomes are available on our Freedom of Information pages.