Following the appointment earlier this year of Ms Margaret Obi as the first Service Police Complaints Commissioner (SPCC), the new statutory Service Police Complaints regime came into force on 19 June 2023. In addition to individual complaints, which any person can make about the Service Police where they have been adversely affected by the matter complained about, the regime will also allow designated bodies to make super-complaints.
Super-complaints are not an alternative way to raise an individual complaint; they provide a route through which issues or concerns can be raised on behalf of the public about harmful patterns or trends in policing by the Service Police, which are, or appear to be, significantly harming the interests of the public.
As set out in the Service Police (Complaints etc.) Regulations 2023, only a body designated by the Secretary of State for Defence can bring a super-complaint against the Service Police. An initial six-week application window for those organisations who wish to be considered for designation will run from July to August 2023. All applications for designated body status will be judged against the criteria set out in the regulations and included in the guidance. An organisation must meet all the criteria to become a designated body.
Separate guidance on how to make a super-complaint will be available once designations have been made by the Secretary of State and a list of designated bodies has been published.
Guidance and the application form for bodies seeking designation as a Service Police super-complaint body.
