Many victims of police misconduct ask the same question: can you sue the police while a police complaint is still ongoing? As a solicitor specialising in actions against the police, I regularly advise clients who are frustrated by the slow, complex and often protracted police complaints process.
In this blog post, I explain that there is no legal rule preventing civil claims against the police from running alongside an ongoing misconduct investigation. Despite what police lawyers frequently assert, there is no statute, case law or Civil Procedure Rule that imposes an absolute bar. Civil proceedings can lawfully proceed in tandem with police complaints, unless the police can demonstrate real prejudice—which is rare.
That said, in many cases, waiting for the complaint outcome can strengthen a civil claim. Police investigations often force early disclosure of evidence, and the rejection of a legitimate complaint can support a claim for additional damages.
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100% of this week’s blog post was generated by me, the human.
Can You Bring a Civil Claim against the Police While a Police Complaint Is Ongoing?
As this is one of the questions which I am most frequently asked as an expert in actions against the Police, I thought it would be helpful to post the answer here, for the benefit of all readers – whether prospective clients or not.
The Reality of the Police Complaints Process
I have had recourse, time and time again, to share on this blog my frustrations with the delays, inadequacies and systemic bias of the Police complaint system.
I therefore fully understand why people who have suffered from Police misconduct are keen to get on with suing them, when the complaint process is dragging on (and on, and on).
Why Police Complaints Can Take Years to Resolve
Police complaints can, quite literally, last for years – especially if either the complainant or the officer complained about exercises their ‘rights of appeal’ at the initial end of the process (what we might call the “Misconduct Merry-Go-Round”).
The Myth: “You Cannot Bring a Civil Claim While a Complaint Is Ongoing”
Lawyers representing Police Forces will assert very frequently, as if it were a legal commandment chiselled on tablets of stone, that they cannot respond to civil claims whilst a complaint investigation is ongoing, so as not to prejudice the outcome of the complaint process or any potential disciplinary or criminal proceedings against the officer(s) arising therefrom.
There Is No Legal Bar to Parallel Civil Proceedings
However, those same Police lawyers are never able to produce a case citation to back up this position, because, quite simply, none exists.
There is also no rule in the Civil Procedure Rules or law on the statute books which would prevent civil proceedings running in tandem with misconduct proceedings – and potentially being concluded first.
The Police could apply to “stay” civil proceedings pending resolution of the complaint process – but would have to show that they or the officer(s) concerned would suffer real prejudice in the alternative, which I strongly suspect they would fail to do. Most of the time, the arguments of prejudice to the complaint or misconduct process that they raise are purely hypothetical.
Misconduct Panels Are Not “Biased” by Civil Claims
Yet further, any misconduct panel should be quite capable of insulating itself from any alleged ‘bias’ arising from the civil claim.
The professionals who constitute that panel will be fully aware of their obligation to reach an independent decision, uninfluenced by the outcome of any adjacent or related civil claim.
Criminal Proceedings and Civil Claims: The Limited Exception
There is authority that criminal proceedings should take primacy over civil proceedings where both are on course for an imminent trial, and it would generally not be appropriate for the same evidence to first be heard in a civil court (Jefferson v Bhetcha 1979 1 WLR 898) but even then, proceedings can still run “in tandem” up to the point of trial – and the criminal proceedings have to be actual or imminent, not merely a future potentiality.
In short, therefore, the answer to the question is “Yes, you can bring a civil claim against the Police whilst a Police complaint arising out of the same incident is ongoing”. There is no legal bar to doing so; certainly not an absolute bar.
The Strategic Answer: Waiting May Strengthen Your Claim
However, the longer, and more nuanced answer, which I generally give to my clients is this: allowing the Police to complete their complaint investigation before presenting your civil claim can be tactically advantageous not least because the investigation report will often require the Police to place a lot of their cards on the table, in terms of statements and other evidence, before you have to show your own hand.
Furthermore, until the outcome of the complaint process is known, you might well take the view that the insult and injury you have suffered as a result of the complained about acts of Police misconduct – and until you know whether the officers involved are going to be punished or get off scot-free, it may be premature to value your claim or consider settlement terms.
Just Because You Can Commence a Claim Against the Police, Doesn’t Mean You Should
In other words, just because you can push on with a civil claim whilst your Police complaint is being investigated does not mean that you should.
Playing the waiting game, allowing the Police to state their case first, and taking a fuller view of the long-term impact of the Police’s wrongdoing is often the best and preferred option – although I will always tailor my advice to the specific facts of each individual case and the needs of my clients.
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Contact the Expert Police Misconduct Solicitor
Iain Gould is a solicitor specialising in complaints, claims and civil actions against the Police. With over 30 years of experience and a national reputation, he has successfully sued all 43 police forces in England and Wales challenging abuse of power and securing rightful compensation.
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