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Police Complaints Reviews


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If you are not satisfied with how your complaint was handled by Greater Manchester Police (GMP), then you may be able to request an independent review by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), as the statutory Relevant Review Body.

Requesting a Review

If you have made a complaint against GMP, you will receive a letter explaining the outcome and your right to ask for a review of that complaint. That letter will inform you who the Relevant Review Body is and how you can contact them to request a review. If the Relevant Review Body is the GMCA then your request will be dealt with by the GMCA Complaints Review Team, which is independent of GMP. The GMCA cannot carry out a review until your complaint about GMP is finalised.

It is important to note that the review cannot reinvestigate the complaint and will only consider whether the handling of the complaint was reasonable and proportionate.

Further information on the police complaints review process can be found below on the information and help sheets.

Police complaint reviews information sheet (docx, 29.8KB)

Police complaint reviews help sheet (docx, 857KB)

If you wish to submit a request for a police complaint review, please use the online form, found via the link below

Complete our online Police Review form 

If you need assistance requesting a review, you can contact us on the details below:

Email: police.reviews@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk

Postal address:
Police Complaint Reviews
Greater Manchester Combined Authority,
1st Floor, Churchgate House,
56 Oxford Street, Manchester,
M1 6EU

When we receive your request, we will check with the organisation that dealt with your complaint to confirm who should be dealing with the review. It is therefore important that you provide us with your consent to do so, there is a section for this on the review form.

If we are not the correct organisation to consider your review, we will advise you who the correct organisation is.

If we are the correct organisation, we will acknowledge your request in writing and let you know the likely time to consider your review. You should ensure that you have provided as much detail as possible regarding your original complaint and the reasons for requesting this review.

Once a review has been completed, the decision will be communicated to you in writing, along with a clear and evidence-based report. 

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your police complaint review, the only option available to challenge the decision would be to request a judicial review.

Please note, if you make a claim for judicial review and it is unsuccessful, the GMCA will seek to recover from you any costs it has incurred in opposing your claim. Such costs may be substantial depending on the circumstances. Therefore, if you are considering this course of action, we would strongly recommend that you seek your own legal advice.

Further information on the judicial review process is available through clicking on the link below:

Form N461: Apply for a judicial review of a decision (external website)

To find out how we use and manage your data, please view our privacy notice.