It is important that genuine grievances against police are reported so that they can be properly investigated. This can result in serious disciplinary procedures being initiated against police members and potentially the institution of criminal charges and viable civil actions against them.

However, there are three threshold issues: whether you should complain and, if you do decide to complain, when and where you should lodge your complaint.

Potential complainants should appreciate that the great majority of complaints against members of the Victoria Police will be investigated by serving members of the police force. The Office of Police Integrity (OPI), a body external to the police, may monitor the investigative work done by the police, but only rarely does the OPI carry out an investigation itself. However, in certain sensitive circumstances the OPI may carry out an investigation or participate actively in a police investigation. As the OPI's obligations under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) ("the Charter") are explored and developed, we may see an expansion of the OPI's investigative role into more cases. 

The Office of Police Integrity is a statutory authority re-established under the Police Integrity Act 2008 (Vic). The OPI has power to compel provision of information, to search premises, to seize documents and to hold hearings. The office is headed by the Director of Police Integrity.

The stated objects of the Director are:

The OPI, as a public authority, is also obliged to act in way that is compatible with human rights.

On the best figures available, only between 5% and 6% of allegations of assault by serving police are found proved after investigation. The figure tends to be higher for less serious forms of complaint, such as complaints of rudeness, verbal abuse and incivility, where about 10% of complaints are found proved.

If you do make a complaint, there are steps that you can take to make it as accurate as possible and thereby more likely to be substantiated.

This chapter divides the kinds of complaints that can be made into categories, sets out the procedure for making a complaint and provides information to enable you to decide whether and how to lodge a complaint.