The Police Complaints Commission, which provides independent oversight of complaints against Guernsey Police, upheld two of the three appeals it determined in 2025 under Regulation 56, which allows complainants to challenge how their complaint was initially assessed.
In both upheld cases, the commission found that investigative enquiries had been carried out before the appropriate authority reached its initial assessment of the complaint. Because the law requires that assessment to be made before any investigation is conducted, the commission concluded that the determinations were ‘not appropriate’.
The initial assessment is the stage at which it is decided whether alleged conduct, if proven, would amount to misconduct, gross misconduct or neither – a judgment that shapes how the complaint is then handled.
Separately, the commission raised concerns about the quality of one investigation among those it concluded during the year.
Of 10 matters carried over from previous years, and completed in 2025, it issued ‘satisfied’ statements in seven cases, but in one case it was not satisfied with the investigation that had been undertaken. Two further matters were reassessed.
The commission supervised eight new complaints referred to it in 2025, two of which were concluded within the year with ‘satisfied’ statements. The remaining six were carried into 2026.
The commission does not publish details of individual complaints, noting that the low numbers involved mean disclosure could risk identifying complainants or officers.
A bid will be made at this week’s States meeting to have the commission’s report debated. Deputy Rob Curgenven has laid an amendment to that effect.
‘Independent oversight benefits everyone,’ said Complaints Commission chairman Rob Jordan in his foreword to the report.
‘The commission remains focused on continuous improvement. Public expectations of policing continue to evolve, and the commission will continue to listen, learn and adapt accordingly.’
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