Lincolnshire Police and PCC join in national launch of Police Anti-Corruption and Abuse Reporting Service

The new service will bolster forces’ capability to take action against those who are not fit to serve, a commitment made by all police chiefs and PCCs to strengthen police standards and culture.

The launch follows a year of joint working between forces, PCCs and Crimestoppers to ensure that the service is available to all communities across the UK.

It comes after a number of recent high profile cases raised cause for concern including Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, who was jailed for the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard, and Met PC David Carrick, who carried out a series of sex attacks on several women while he was serving in the force.

The Police Anti-Corruption and Abuse Reporting Service covers information relating to officers, staff and volunteers who:

• Provide information or influence in return for money or favours.

• Use their policing position for personal advantage - whether financial or otherwise.

• Cross professional boundaries or abuse their position for sexual purposes.

• Abuse or control their partner, or those they have a relationship with.

• Engage in racist, homophobic, misogynistic or disablist conduct, on or off duty, in person or online.

Crimestoppers will take calls from the public about individuals employed by any police force in the UK, regardless of whether the information relates to them whilst they are on or off duty, online or in person. Reports can be submitted online and telephone calls are free.

When people contact the service, they can choose to remain 100 per cent anonymous, or can opt to leave their details if they are willing for the force investigation team to contact them directly.

Information received by Crimestoppers will be passed to the relevant force’s specialist unit, such as Professional Standards or Anti-Corruption, for assessment. It may be passed to specialist detectives to begin an investigation, take steps to safeguard someone at risk or in danger, or record the information to inform future investigations.

The service sits alongside each force’s existing complaints procedure and has been set up solely to take reports of serious corruption and abuse committed by serving police officers and staff.

Lincolnshire Police’s Deputy Chief Constable Julia Debenham said: “We know that the vast majority of our colleagues are professional, committed and passionate about safeguarding communities.

“That’s why we are united in our shared determination to rid policing of those who fall below the high standards we expect of each other, and that the public rightly expects and deserves.

“The Police Anti-Corruption and Abuse Reporting Service will help us to operate with the trust and confidence of the public by providing a route to report wrongdoing, independent of policing.”

Marc Jones, Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “As the Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire my focus is on ensuring our communities feel and are safe and for that to happen it is critical for the public to have confidence and trust in the police.

“There is no one keener to see inappropriate behaviour by police officers called out than the overwhelming number of officers who work tirelessly to protect and serve our communities themselves. I will always invest to support that aim and to ensure the highest standards are maintained across policing.

“This new dedicated phone line will help do just that by providing a clear route to report officers demonstrating behaviour that does not meet the high standards expected of them. This can only be of value if we can be assured that all subsequent investigations are carried out promptly, impartially and to a high standard which is why I have also recently provided funding to expand the Professional Standards Department. This should assure the public and police officers alike that allegations will be addressed appropriately and fairly, building further the confidence we can have in our hard-working local police force.”

You can contact the service by calling 0800 085 0000 or via Crimestoppers' website.

The service is only for allegations of corruption or serious abuse.

What to report elsewhere:

If you, or someone else, is in immediate danger or a crime is in progress, call 999. Otherwise, call 101.

If you have  information about a crime, you can report this here.

You can complain about the service you have received from Lincolnshire Police here.