What is the Jersey Police Complaints Authority?
The Jersey Police Complaints Authority is an independent organisation set up by the States of Jersey under the Police (Complaints and Discipline) (Jersey) Law 1999.
Police (Complaints and Discipline) (Jersey) Law 1999
Police (Complaints and Discipline) (Jersey) Order 2000
When to make a complaint
If you think that a police officer or honorary police officer has behaved incorrectly, unfairly or criminally, you have the right to make a complaint.
You are entitled to complain if someone:
- was rude to you
- used excessive force
- unlawfully arrested you
- abused your rights
Claims for compensation related to alleged misconduct by the police or honorary police officers are not dealt by the Jersey Police Complaints Authority.
How to make a complaint
You can complain on someone else's behalf as long as they have given written consent.
Complaining about the Chief Officer or Deputy Chief Officer
If you want to complain about the Chief Officer or the Deputy Chief Officer, you must write directly to the Justice and Home Affairs Minister.
New legislation was introduced in 2017 to deal with complaints about the Chief Officer or Deputy Chief Officer, this legislation contains details of the full complaint process.
States of Jersey Police Force (Chief Officer and Deputy Chief Officer) Regulations 2017
Complaining about police officers
If you want to complain about a member of the States of Jersey Police, you must make the complaint either in person at the police headquarters or in writing to:
Chief Officer of Police
Police Headquarters
La Route du Fort
St Helier
Jersey
JE2 4PA
Complaining about honorary police
If you want to complain about an honorary police officer, you must write directly to the Connétable of the parish where the honorary police officer operates.
My Parish Online website
The complaint process
We cannot say how long it will take to complete an investigation.
Informal resolutions
An informal resolution is when your complaint may be resolved informally with an apology or an explanation.
You must first of all agree to this informal resolution process. If you do not agree, there must be a formal investigation.
The Jersey Police Complaints Authority is not involved in informal resolutions.
Formal investigations
A formal investigation is when your complaint involves serious allegations, cannot be resolved with an apology or explanation and needs to be fully investigated by an investigating officer.
The Jersey Police Complaints Authority must approve the appointment of an investigating officer. We must also appoint a supervising member who is responsible for making sure that investigations are carried out in a fair and thorough manner.
Members of the Authority aren't investigators and it is not their role to conduct the investigation.
The Jersey Police Complaints Authority will focus on possible breaches of police conduct and any other disciplinary actions, but the outcome of a case may not always involve disciplinary action. Focused training or advice may be more appropriate.
Cases involving criminal investigations
If a complaint involves a criminal investigation or criminal prosecution against the person making the complaint or the officer, who has had a complaint made against them, the investigation will not start until the criminal case has been concluded.
If a complaint contains allegations of criminal conduct, the investigating officer must send a report to the Attorney General who will consider whether criminal proceedings should be taken against the officer.
Investigating officers will aim to complete the investigation report within 120 days and the Jersey Police Complaints Authority will review the report as soon as it is available.
Any disciplinary action against the officer will happen after the criminal prosecution has been resolved.
Cases involving criminal investigations can take many months and complaints of this nature can take up to a year or more to be concluded.
gov.je