Witnesses: Complaints
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to give indirect witnesses of criminal offences that have taken place on social media standing in law to complain to the (a) Police and (b) Independent Office for Police Conduct about those offences.
Answered by Heidi Alexander
Any individual is entitled, and should be encouraged, to report anything they believe to be criminal behaviour, however they became aware of it, to the police.
Section 12 of the Police Reform Act 2022 sets out that to use the police complaints system, a person (member of the public) must have been adversely impacted by the events about which they complain.
The Home Office are responsible for policy and legislation on the reporting of crime and complaints to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
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