Taking legal routes to complaining about the police and seeking recourse
Complaining about the police
If you are unhappy about an experience with the police or you have witnessed an incident you want to complain about, you can complain directly to the police force involved. You can complete the online form to complain to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) here: How to complain about the police | Greater Manchester Police
You can instead complain to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC). In some cases, the IOPC will investigate your complaint. In many cases, they’ll refer your complaint to the relevant police force to investigate: A guide to the complaints process | Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)
It is our view that official complaint processes, whether through the police or the IOPC, rarely deliver justice for those harmed by police misconduct and violence. Many complaints are simply referred back to the police to investigate themselves, resulting in delays, dismissals or minimal consequences. In our experience, communities impacted by police harassment, violence and racism often find these mechanisms ineffective, reinforcing a system where there is little police accountability.
Subject access requests
A Subject Access Request (SAR) allows you to request a copy of the personal data the police hold about you, including records of arrests, stop and searches, or interactions.
You might do one to check what information they have, challenge inaccuracies in the data, or understand how your data is being used.
To submit a SAR, contact the relevant police force’s data protection unit. They should respond within one month. You can find more information about submitting a SAR to GMP here: Data protection | Greater Manchester Police including the form you should complete.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has more information about SARs, including what you should include in your SAR: Getting copies of your information (SAR) | ICO
Freedom of Information requests
While a Subject Access Request (SAR) allows you to access your own personal data, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request is used to obtain general information held by public bodies, such as police policies, statistics, or reports. FOI requests cannot be used to request personal data about yourself or others.
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), you have the right to request information from public authorities, including the police, government departments, and councils.
How to Make an FOI Request:
Who to Ask: Public bodies like the police, Home Office, or local councils.
What to Request: Documents, statistics, reports, emails, or policies (not personal data).
How to Apply: Send a written request via email or post, clearly stating the information you seek. For police forces, FOI contact details are usually available on their official websites (Greater Manchester Police here).
Key Points to Know:
Response Time: Authorities must reply within 20 working days (though they often don’t).
Cost Limits: If gathering the information would take more than 18 hours (for local authorities) or 24 hours (for central government and police), the request may be refused unless you agree to narrow it down.
Refusals: Requests can be rejected if the information is too expensive to obtain, falls under an exemption (e.g., national security), or is considered unreasonable (e.g., designed to disrupt or harass the authority).
Appeals: If refused, you can request an internal review, then escalate to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if needed.
FOI requests help uncover police practices, public spending, and accountability. Use them to hold authorities to account!
Legal support when taking action against the police
Chris at Broudie Jackson Canter, https://www.jacksonlees.co.uk/broudiejacksoncanter/our-people/chris-topping
Sarah at Hodge, Jones & Alan, https://www.hja.net/legal-team/sarah-flanagan/
Daniel at Imran Khan solicitors
Christian Weaver, Christian Weaver, Garden Court North Chambers (reach out)
Ife Thompson, About Me | ifethompson
Criminal legal support
These legal experts can defend you if you are arrested or charged with an offence
Robert Lizar
01 Princess Road, Moss Side, Manchester, M14 4RB
Tel: 0161 227 7777
Out of hours: 07900 998 999
www.robertlizar.com
info@robertlizars.com
Netpol have an excellent list of trusted lawyers beyond Manchester: https://netpol.org/solicitors/
Legal aid
If you are arrested or questioned by police, you have the right to free legal advice, regardless of income or immigration status. You can:
Request a solicitor before or during questioning.
Speak to a solicitor privately, in person or by phone.
Choose your own solicitor or use the free duty solicitor.
Legal aid may also cover court representation if you cannot afford a lawyer and your case is serious. Eligibility depends on your financial situation and the impact of the case.
Never waive your right to legal advice. It’s there to protect you.
Affected by stop and search
You can report an experience of stop and search to StopWatch, a coalition whose work to challenge police use of stop and search, here. You might also be interested in their wider campaign ahttps://yjlc.uk/resources/explainer-videos-young-people/stop-and-search nd policy work.
You can download a digital version of our information ‘bustcard’ here [insert link]. To order (free) physical copies, please email npolicemonitor@gmail.com with your postal address and the number required. The Youth Justice Legal Centre also has a useful know your rights video available here.
We might be able to offer a know your rights workshop. Please email npolicemonitor@gmail.com if you’re interested
Inquests
If you have lost someone to a state related killing, it is unimaginably horrific.
Some consider an inquest. Inquests establish medical causes of death and then answer the questions: who died, when and where did they die, and (perhaps most important of all) how (rather than why) they came by their death.
However, it is important to note that no blame can be established. Coroners are advised to say: “This is not a trial. Nobody (no organisation) is on trial. There is no question of attributing blame. That is not the coroner’s role.”
The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings has said: “Reject the inquest system. The inquest system has failed to provide an opportunity to successfully prosecute a single police officer for the killings. Even when an inquest jury finds evidence of police criminality, the Crown Prosecution Service protects the police. It is a legal framework of containment. It is an archaic distraction from the mechanisms of real justice.”
Many people do decide to pursue an inquest however and as Inquest says, they ‘present key opportunities to find out how and why their loved one died.’
INQUEST provides ‘expertise on state related deaths and their investigations to bereaved people, lawyers, advice and support agencies, the media and parliamentarians.’
In a recent report, they highlight how the potential role of race and racism in deaths in state custody puts lives at risk, and so they have created a guide that provides lawyers representing families bereaved by deaths in police custody, prisons, immigration detention, and mental health settings with the legal expertise to raise the potential role of race and racism at inquests.
Making the decision around an inquest is incredibly tough as is the process itself.