Launch of national Police Anti-Corruption and Abuse Reporting Service

We have joined all police forces in the UK to launch the Police Anti-Corruption and Abuse Reporting Service, which will be run by the independent charity Crimestoppers.

The service was established to give the public an anonymous and confidential route to report concerns about criminal behaviour by individuals in policing. It will bolster our ability to take action against those who are not fit to serve, a commitment made by Chief Constable Chris Noble.

The Police Anti-Corruption and Abuse Reporting Service covers information relating to officers, police staff and volunteers who:

• Provide information or influence in return for money or favours
• Use their policing position for personal advantage - whether financial or otherwise
• Cross professional boundaries or abuse their position for sexual purposes
• Abuse or control their partner, or those they have a relationship with
• Engage in racist, homophobic, misogynistic or disablist conduct, on or off duty, in person or online.

Crimestoppers will take reports from the public about individuals employed by Staffordshire Police as well as any police force in the UK, regardless of whether the information relates to them whilst they are on or off duty, online or in person. Reports can be submitted online and telephone calls are free.

When people contact the service, they can choose to remain completely anonymous, or can opt to leave their details if they are willing for the force investigation team to contact them directly.

Information received by Crimestoppers will be passed to us and our Professional Standards Department, who will assess it. We may then pass the information to specialist detectives to begin an investigation, take steps to safeguard someone at risk or in danger, or record the information to inform future investigations.

The service sits alongside our existing complaints procedure, and has been set up solely to take reports of corruption and or serious abuse committed by serving police officers, staff and volunteers.

Deputy Chief Constable Jon Roy said: “The Police Anti-Corruption and Abuse Reporting Service is just one of a number of actions and reforms being undertaken to improve policing for the public.

“We hope this further demonstrates our determination to build trust and confidence within our communities by finding and rooting out anyone not fit to serve.

“People should be confident in reporting concerns over criminal behaviour by police officers and this line will help address any concerns they may have about doing so.

“It’s important that the public have a choice of methods for contacting police and this service provides a new, anonymous route to report allegations against officers, staff or volunteers.”

Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime Ben Adams said: “All police officers, staff and volunteers must uphold the high standards Staffordshire Police and the public rightly expect of them, and the early identification of those who do not meet these standards is essential.

“I welcome this confidential, accessible channel for the public to report any concerns they may have about individuals within the service, which sits alongside Staffordshire Police’s own robust complaints procedures.”