If You Have a Problem with the Police

Most people know that the police have certain powers that they can use against you if you have committed a crime (or if they think you are about to commit a crime). But there are certain ways the police must behave when they deal with people, whether they have committed a crime or not. If a police officer treats you badly or unfairly (or worse, for example, by injuring you), you can take action against them. Your options for taking action There are different types of action you can take.
The one you should use will depend on:-

• What happened to you; and
• What you want done about what happened to you.

What you want to be done can include:-

• An apology;
• Compensation for physical injuries, damage to your property or injury to your feelings; or
• Making sure that you, or someone else, isn't treated the same way in the future.

Here is some details of action you can take, and when you can take them. They are as follows:-

• Civil proceedings against the police (suing the police).
  
  By doing this, you can get compensation if you win your case. But you can sue the police only for very specific reasons.

• Making a complaint against an individual police officer.
  
  This could get you an apology, and also may result in the officer involved being disciplined. You can't get compensation, but you can make a complaint about almost anything that you felt was unfair.

• Prosecuting an individual police officer.
  
  This could get you compensation, but only if the officer is found guilty of committing a crime.

.: If you are stopped and searched.

The police do have powers in many situations to stop and search you. But the rules on when they can do so, and how long they can stop you for, are complicated. For more on this see 'When searching you can be an assault'.