Residents lodged thousands of complaints against West Midlands Police for a number of issues.

More than 5,700 complaints were lodged against West Midlands Police last year, according to statistics.

A report showed the force’s Professional Standards Department received a total of 5,788 complaints for a variety of issues during 2025/26.

Most of the complaints received were under the category of ‘delivery of duties and service’ which includes areas such as dissatisfaction with the outcome or progress of investigations.

Other categories include the use of police powers, conduct of officers, access to information and discriminatory behaviour.

The report said: “Once a complaint has been received the matter is assessed. If it’s not considered a misconduct matter efforts are usually made to resolve it informally.

“The complainant may request at any time that the complaint be escalated to Schedule 3 status, at which point it is formally recorded, and certain procedural requirements must be met.

“If after receiving the outcome and response, complainants remain dissatisfied, they can apply for a review.

“Depending on the seriousness of the complaint, the police will refer the case to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner or the Independent Office for Police Conduct, who generally deal with matters related to misconduct, death or serious harm.

“Complaints that are dealt with outside of Schedule 3 are complaints that are handled informally where a phone call/email resolution is considered appropriate.

“Complaints that are dealt with inside of Schedule 3 are complaints that are handled formally and require an investigation. The level of scrutiny will vary and depending on the seriousness of the complaint.”

“Of the 11 complaint categories, Delivery of Duties and Service is the category that receives the highest volume of complaints.

“This includes complainants being dissatisfied with the outcome or progress of an investigation; lack of updates; or where officers have not kept to an agreed timescale.