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Complaints and misconduct

Professional standards — Authorised Professional Practice

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Summary

This section on complaints and misconduct is part of the College of Policing's Authorised Professional Practice (APP) aimed at guiding police officers. It provides essential information on the processes and expectations surrounding police misconduct allegations. The College collaborates with various stakeholders and experts to develop guidelines that ensure fairness, consistency, and transparency in misconduct proceedings. The guidance specifically addresses how outcomes should be determined at the close of these proceedings, emphasizing the importance of proper assessment of conduct.

Key principles

  • 1Ensure fairness and consistency in misconduct proceedings.
  • 2Promote transparency in outcome determinations.
  • 3Utilize guidance developed in collaboration with stakeholders and experts.

Full guidance

This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.

The College has worked with stakeholders, subject matter experts and partner agencies to develop Guidance on outcomes in police misconduct proceedings .

The guidance is designed to ensure consistency and transparency in assessing conduct and imposing outcomes at the conclusion of police misconduct proceedings.

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Reproduced from the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice under the Open Government Licence v3.0, as captured on 2026-06-27. APP is amended over time — check the source link below for the current version. This is a reference, not operational authorisation.

APP is the authoritative source for UK policing practice and is updated over time. For the current, official version — including any operational detail not reproduced here — go direct.

Read the full APP guidance

Source: College of Policing — Authorised Professional Practice · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-27.