Nearly nine in 10 allegations made against Suffolk police officers last year ended in no misconduct action, Home Office figures have shown.

Across England and Wales, the proportion of allegations not seeing further action remained unchanged from the year before at 89%.

Home Office figures show 1,140 misconduct allegations were made against Suffolk police officers and handled under the formal complaints process in the year to March 2023 – up from 938 the year before.

Of these, 1,137 were either not investigated, or investigated not subject to special procedures, with 1,000 resulting in no further action.

There was just one allegations leading to misconduct proceedings, while 158 were withdrawn.

The figures cover the total number of allegations rather than the number of complaints – one complaint could contain several allegations of misconduct.

They do not cover any complaints handled outside the formal process, where it was felt a detailed enquiry was not needed.

A Suffolk police spokesman said in response: “Police officers and staff are expected to deliver the highest standards of personal and professional behaviour or face the consequences of not doing so.

“It is recognised that members of the public can express dissatisfaction with the service they have received from the police for a variety of reasons, and investigations into the circumstances can be lengthy and complex. 

“There are a range of options which can be taken should there be proof of wrongdoing. 

“The constabulary endeavours to resolve any complaints in the most appropriate way to the satisfaction of the complainant and where the service has fallen below the standard expected we will offer an apology .

“Those more serious complaint are investigated by the Professional Standards Department and all evidence is carefully reviewed both from a criminal and misconduct perspective.

“Also, following a public complaint and investigation any lessons learned are subsequently disseminated to relevant officers and staff.”