OPCC is as pointless as Humberside Police
My experience with Humberside Police and the complaints process has been deeply frustrating and has left me with no confidence in the system at all.
I reported what I believed to be an assault. CCTV footage existed, contextual footage existed, and I provided information explaining ongoing issues leading up to the incident. Despite this, only three clips were reviewed when more than twenty were available. No statement was taken from me. Witnesses who were identified at the time were not contacted. The involvement of a second participant in the incident was acknowledged in correspondence but not investigated. The decision was made based largely on one interpretation of limited CCTV.
The conclusion was that the other party acted in self-defence. This was despite the footage showing the other party approaching me on my own driveway, positioning themselves at my vehicle door, shouting and swearing, and engaging in physical contact. I disputed the interpretation at the time and provided still images taken from the same footage to show contact at face level and near-simultaneous engagement. These points were not addressed.
I raised a formal complaint setting out multiple concerns:
• additional CCTV footage was available but not requested
• no complainant statement was taken
• identified witnesses were not contacted
• the involvement of a second participant was not investigated
• the interpretation of the CCTV was disputed
• the assessment of self-defence did not appear to consider the full sequence of events
The complaint response concluded that the handling was appropriate.
I then requested a review by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. The review was upheld. The OPCC identified deficiencies and directed Humberside Police to reconsider the complaint and provide clearer reasoning.
Following this, Humberside Police issued a revised outcome. However, the reconsideration appeared to repeat much of the original response. Several allegations were repeated word for word. The same interpretation of the CCTV was relied upon. Additional footage was still not requested. Witnesses were still not contacted. The involvement of a second participant remained unaddressed.
Some determinations were changed, but without any new analysis explaining why. The reasoning itself remained materially the same.
I submitted a detailed response explaining that the recommendations from the upheld review did not appear to have been meaningfully addressed. I set out, allegation by allegation, why the reconsideration did not engage with the issues identified by the OPCC.
I was then informed that no further review was available and that the matter was closed because Humberside Police had issued a new outcome.
This effectively means:
• A complaint identified clear gaps in enquiries and reasoning
• The review agreed those issues required reconsideration
• The reconsideration repeated much of the same reasoning
• The oversight body closed the case once a new letter was issued
This leaves the impression that as long as a response is issued, the recommendations do not need to be meaningfully addressed. The process appears to focus on procedural completion rather than whether the issues identified were actually resolved.
After going through the entire process — reporting the incident, submitting a complaint, requesting a review, having that review upheld, and then challenging the reconsideration — the end result is that nothing materially changed. The same interpretation remained, the same gaps remained, and the matter was closed.
This experience has left me with no confidence that the complaints process ensures accountability. Even where a review is upheld, there appears to be no mechanism to ensure that the force meaningfully addresses the issues identified.