If you think North Wales Police have let you down, you can complain. Most people don’t know how. This guide walks you through the entire process from start to finish. It covers how to submit a complaint, how to get your records, how to use AI to analyse them, and what to do if nobody listens.
A police complaint does not need to be on a special form. It just needs to be in writing with your name and a way to contact you. That is it. Everything else is optional.
1 Submit Your Complaint to Professional Standards
Your complaint should go directly to the Professional Standards Department. Do not submit it through 101 or a general enquiry form. Sending it straight to Professional Standards ensures it lands with the right team. It also creates a paper trail from day one.
Phone: 01492 805427
Post: Professional Standards Department, Police Headquarters, Glan y Don, Colwyn Bay, LL29 8AW
Email Template: Initial Complaint
Subject: Formal Complaint Against [Officer Name / North Wales Police]
Dear Sir / Madam,
I wish to submit a formal complaint regarding the conduct of [officer name, collar number if known] / the handling of [occurrence number / brief description].
The details of my complaint are as follows:
[Set out clearly what happened, when it happened, and why you believe it was wrong. Include dates, occurrence numbers, officer names and collar numbers where possible. Be factual and specific. Stick to evidence rather than emotion.]
I believe this conduct falls below the standards expected under the College of Policing Code of Ethics, specifically [honesty / integrity / objectivity / fairness / respect].
I would be grateful for written acknowledgement of this complaint and a reference number within 15 working days.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your email address]
[Your phone number]
2 Submit a Subject Access Request (SAR)
This is the most important step. A Subject Access Request forces the police to hand over every piece of personal data they hold about you. That includes officer log entries, custody records, internal emails, filing forms, supervisor reviews, warning markers, and minutes of meetings where your name was mentioned.
Why does this matter? Because what officers write in their logs can be very different from what they tell you to your face.
Your SAR might reveal subjective or biased language in official records. It might show that your reports were never properly assessed. It might contain misrepresentations of things you said. It might show that your rights under the Victims’ Code were not respected. You will not know until you see the records for yourself.
A SAR is completely free of charge. The police must respond within one calendar month.
Phone: 01492 805125
Post: Information Standards and Compliance, North Wales Police, Glan y Don, Abergele Road, Colwyn Bay, LL29 8AW
Email Template: Subject Access Request
Subject: Subject Access Request Under UK GDPR / Data Protection Act 2018
Dear Sir / Madam,
I am writing to make a Subject Access Request under Article 15 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Section 45 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
I request copies of all personal data held about me by North Wales Police, including but not limited to:
- All Occurrence Enquiry Log (OEL) entries on any occurrence in which I am named as a suspect, victim, witness, or person of interest.
- All custody records.
- All filing forms, supervisor reviews, and crime recording decisions.
- All internal and external correspondence (including emails) that references me by name.
- All RMS markers, warning markers, and intelligence records held against my name.
- Any minutes of meetings in which I am discussed (including safeguarding meetings, strategy discussions, and multi-agency meetings).
- All records of contact I have made with North Wales Police (including emails, webchats, online reports, and 101 calls).
For reference, the occurrence numbers I am aware of are: [list any occurrence numbers you know].
My full name is [full name].
My date of birth is [date of birth].
My address is [address].
I am happy to provide photographic ID if required to verify my identity.
Please acknowledge receipt of this request and confirm the expected timeline for disclosure.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your email address]
3 Use AI to Analyse Your SAR Disclosure
This is where things get interesting. Once you receive your SAR disclosure, it will probably be a large PDF. It could be dozens or even hundreds of pages long. Reading through it all yourself is possible but time consuming. AI tools can help you do it faster and more thoroughly than you ever could alone.
Upload your SAR disclosure to an AI tool such as claude.ai (by Anthropic) or grok.com (by xAI). Then upload or copy and paste any email correspondence you have received from the police. This might include complaint responses, updates, or outcome letters.
Then use a prompt like the one below. It tells the AI exactly what to look for.
AI Prompt: SAR vs Police Correspondence Analysis
I have uploaded my Subject Access Request disclosure from the police and email correspondence I received from the police during the same period.
Please analyse these documents and identify the following:
- Inaccuracies and contradictions: Find any differences between what the officers wrote in their internal logs and what they told me in their emails. Flag any statements in the emails that are contradicted by the SAR disclosure.
- Misrepresentations: Identify any instances where my words, views, or position appear to have been misrepresented in official records or correspondence.
- Subjective or editorialised language: Highlight any entries in the occurrence logs where officers have used personal opinions, assumptions, or dismissive language rather than objective, factual recording.
- Gaps in due process: Identify any steps that should have been taken but were not, based on standard police procedures. This includes missing crime recording assessments, failures to offer the Victims’ Right to Review, failures to record vulnerability, and missing referrals.
- Breaches of codes of conduct, ethics, law, and best practice: Assess the handling against the College of Policing Code of Ethics, the Victims’ Code, PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act), the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS), the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA), the Equality Act 2010, and any other relevant guidance or legislation.
- Conflicts of interest: Identify whether the same officer handled matters where I was both a suspect and a victim, or whether any officer reviewed or supervised their own work.
- Data accuracy: Check for incorrect personal details (wrong address, wrong phone number, unexplained markers), contradictory information across different records, and any records that appear incomplete.
Present your findings in a clear table format with the date, the source document, what was found, and why it is a concern.
Once the AI has produced its findings, review them yourself. Check that the quotes are accurate and that the concerns are valid. AI tools are excellent at finding patterns but you should always verify the output against the original documents before relying on it in a complaint.
4 Submit a Follow Up Complaint Using Your SAR Findings
Now you have real evidence. You are no longer complaining based on how you feel. You are quoting the officers’ own words from their own logs back at them. That is very hard to dismiss.
Write a follow up complaint to Professional Standards. Reference your original complaint number. Attach the specific SAR entries that support each point. Be factual. Be specific. Let the evidence do the talking.
5 Submit a Follow Up SAR After the Complaint Is Dealt With
This is the step most people miss. Once Professional Standards have dealt with your complaint, submit a second SAR. This will capture all the internal records generated during the complaint investigation itself.
It will show you what the investigating officer actually did. Who did they speak to? What did they review? Did they read the OEL entries or just take the officer’s word for it? Did they identify any of the issues you raised?
If your complaint was rubber stamped, the follow up SAR will make that obvious.
Email Template: Follow Up SAR
Subject: Follow Up Subject Access Request Under UK GDPR / Data Protection Act 2018
Dear Sir / Madam,
I previously submitted a Subject Access Request (reference [SAR reference number]) which was fulfilled on [date].
I am now submitting a follow up SAR to capture any personal data created, amended, or added since my previous disclosure, including but not limited to:
- All records generated during the investigation of my complaint (reference [complaint number]).
- Any new OEL entries, filing forms, supervisor reviews, or correspondence on any occurrence in which I am named.
- Any internal emails or communications referencing me or my complaint.
- Any updates to RMS markers or intelligence records held against my name.
My details remain the same as my previous request: [name, DOB, address].
Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your email address]
6 Escalate If Nobody Listens
If North Wales Police do not handle your complaint properly, you have options. Here is the escalation ladder.
Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)
The IOPC oversees the police complaints system in England and Wales. You can apply for a review of how your complaint was handled. They also independently investigate the most serious matters.
Phone: 0300 020 0096
Post: IOPC, PO Box 473, Sale, M33 0BW
Website: policeconduct.gov.uk
Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales
The PCC holds the Chief Constable to account. You can raise concerns about policing standards and how complaints have been handled.
Phone: 01492 805486
Post: OPCC, North Wales Police Headquarters, Glan y Don, Colwyn Bay, LL29 8AW
Your Member of Parliament
Your MP can write to the Chief Constable or the IOPC on your behalf. This adds political visibility and can speed things up considerably. Find your MP at members.parliament.uk.
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
If your complaint involves multi-agency failures (police working with social services or local councils), the Ombudsman may be able to investigate.
7 Contact the Press
If you have exhausted the complaints process and believe there is a story in the public interest, the press can be a powerful tool for accountability. Journalists are much more likely to cover a story that comes with documentary evidence. Your SAR disclosure is ideal for this.
Local Press
National Press
Investigative Journalism
Press Email Templates
Below are five templates for different situations. Adapt them to your own case and attach any evidence you have. Keep the email short. Journalists get hundreds of emails a day. Lead with the story.
Template 1: Police Corruption
Subject: Evidence of Police Corruption in North Wales
Dear Newsdesk,
I have documentary evidence of what I believe amounts to corruption within North Wales Police.
[Two or three sentences describing what happened. For example: “Officers fabricated entries in official police logs. My position was deliberately misrepresented at a multi-agency meeting. An officer then reviewed and approved their own work as supervisor, preventing any independent oversight.”]
This evidence comes directly from a Subject Access Request to the force. It is the officers’ own words in their own records. I am happy to share the documents with you.
I have raised this through the police complaints process. I do not believe it has been properly addressed.
I am available to discuss this at your convenience.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]
Template 2: Police Incompetence
Subject: Serious Failings in North Wales Police Investigation
Dear Newsdesk,
I am writing to highlight serious failings in how North Wales Police handled my case.
[Two or three sentences. For example: “I reported multiple criminal offences supported by documentary evidence. No crime reference numbers were ever issued. A safeguarding meeting about my children was held without my knowledge, and the subjects of my complaint were invited to attend while I was excluded.”]
I have obtained the full police records through a Subject Access Request. They show that the evidence was never properly assessed. I am happy to share this with you.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]
Template 3: Police Aggression
Subject: Excessive Force / Aggressive Conduct by North Wales Police
Dear Newsdesk,
I am writing to report aggressive or excessive conduct by a North Wales Police officer.
[Describe the incident briefly. Include the date, the location, and any identifying details about the officer. Mention any injuries or witnesses.]
I have [body worn camera footage requested / medical records / witness statements] to support my account. I have also submitted a formal complaint to the Professional Standards Department (reference [number]).
I believe this is in the public interest and would welcome the chance to discuss it further.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]
Template 4: Lack of Professionalism
Subject: Unprofessional Conduct by North Wales Police
Dear Newsdesk,
I want to raise concerns about unprofessional conduct by North Wales Police officers.
[Two or three sentences. For example: “Officers used subjective and dismissive language in official records. My mental health disclosures were used to undermine my credibility instead of triggering additional support. My stated position was misrepresented on official filing forms.”]
I have the officers’ own log entries from a Subject Access Request. I am willing to share this evidence with you.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]
Template 5: Poor Service
Subject: Failure of Service by North Wales Police
Dear Newsdesk,
I am writing about a significant failure of service by North Wales Police.
[Two or three sentences. For example: “I reported serious safeguarding concerns supported by evidence over several months. My reports were not investigated. No crime reference numbers were issued. My Victims’ Right to Review was never offered. A safeguarding meeting about my children was held without my knowledge and I only found out through a Subject Access Request months later.”]
I have raised this through the police complaints process and with the IOPC. I believe media coverage may now be necessary to ensure accountability.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]
Key Advice
- Keep everything in writing. Email creates a timestamped record that cannot be disputed. If an officer asks you to call or come in, you are within your rights to request written communication instead.
- Always ask for a reference number. Every complaint and every SAR should generate one. If you do not receive one, chase it in writing.
- Be factual, not emotional. The strongest complaints quote the officer’s own words from the SAR. Reference specific dates, log entries, and occurrence numbers. Let the evidence do the work.
- Do not accept “no individual or organisational learning” at face value. If the force concludes there is nothing to learn, ask them what evidence they reviewed. Then SAR the complaint file and check for yourself.
- You have the right to a Victims’ Right to Review. If you reported a crime and the police decided not to investigate, you are entitled to have that decision reviewed. If this was never offered, that is a Victims’ Code breach. Include it in your complaint.
- A SAR is your most powerful tool. Officers know their logs could theoretically be read by a supervisor. But most do not expect the person they wrote about to actually read them. Some officers write subjective, editorialised, or inaccurate entries because they assume nobody will ever check. A Subject Access Request changes that assumption completely.
SAR Review Example:
8 Promote the Story Yourself
You do not have to wait for a journalist to pick up your story. You can publish it yourself and promote it directly to the people who need to see it. Social media makes this possible for anyone with a phone and a few pounds to spend.
But first, you need to understand what you can and cannot do legally.
What You Can Do Legally
You can share your own experience. You can describe what happened to you in your own words. You can publish factual statements that are supported by documentary evidence such as your SAR disclosure. You can express your personal opinion clearly labelled as opinion. You can name public bodies such as North Wales Police or Flintshire County Council. You can reference published documents, policies, and publicly available information.
Truth is the strongest defence against defamation. If you can prove what you are saying is true, you are on solid ground. Honest opinion based on true facts is also protected. So is publication in the public interest.
What You Should Avoid
Do not name individual officers in public posts unless you are confident the statements are provably true and you are prepared to defend them. Do not make claims you cannot evidence. Do not publish information that is subject to court reporting restrictions. If you have an active criminal case, check with your solicitor before publishing anything that could be seen as prejudicing those proceedings. Do not share personal data about other individuals without their consent.
When in doubt, describe the conduct without naming the individual. For example, “the investigating officer wrote in her logs that…” is safer than naming the officer directly. Stick to facts drawn from your SAR. Quote their own words. Let the evidence speak.
Where to Post
Facebook is the most effective platform for reaching a local community. Most people in North Wales are on Facebook. Local community groups in towns like Mold, Wrexham, Flint, and Buckley have thousands of members. You can share your blog post, a video, or a graphic directly into these groups.
YouTube is ideal for longer form content. A 5 to 15 minute video explaining your experience, with screenshots of key SAR entries on screen, can be very powerful. YouTube videos also rank well on Google, which means people searching for information about your local police force may find your video months or years later.
TikTok and Instagram Reels work well for short, punchy clips. A 60 second video summarising the key facts with text overlays can reach thousands of people organically without spending a penny. These platforms reward content that gets engagement, so a compelling story will spread on its own.
X (Twitter) is useful for tagging journalists, MPs, and official accounts. Tag your local MP, the Police and Crime Commissioner, the IOPC, and local news outlets. Public accountability works best when it is visible.
Use AI to Create Shareable Content
You do not need to be a designer or video editor. AI tools can create professional quality content for you in minutes. Here is how.
Quotes and graphics for Facebook and Instagram: Go to claude.ai or chatgpt.com and use a prompt like this:
“I am raising awareness about failures in how North Wales Police handled my case. Write me 10 short, shareable quotes for Facebook and Instagram graphics. Each quote should be one or two sentences maximum. They should be factual, powerful, and suitable for a text overlay on a simple background image. Do not use any names. Focus on the principle rather than the specific case.”
Then use a free tool like Canva to paste those quotes onto simple background images. Canva has thousands of free templates designed for social media. Pick a clean, bold template. Add the quote. Export it. Post it. The whole process takes about two minutes per graphic.
Short videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Facebook: Record yourself speaking to camera for 60 seconds. Summarise the key facts. Keep it calm and factual. Then upload the video to a free captioning tool like CapCut which will automatically add subtitles. Most people watch social media videos with the sound off, so captions are essential.
Alternatively, ask an AI tool to write you a 60 second script:
“Write me a 60 second video script for TikTok about a father who raised safeguarding concerns about his children and was ignored by the police. The tone should be calm, factual, and measured. End with a call to action asking viewers to share the video. Do not use any names.”
Longer videos for YouTube: Ask AI to write you a full script based on your blog post or complaint document. Record yourself reading it, or use a free text to speech tool to generate a voiceover. Combine it with screenshots of key documents (redacted as needed) using free video editing software like CapCut or DaVinci Resolve.
Run a Facebook Ad Campaign
This is the most cost effective way to make sure your story reaches a specific local audience. Facebook allows you to target ads to people who live in a specific area, which means you can put your story in front of nearly every adult in a town like Mold for very little money.
Here is how to do it step by step:
1. Go to facebook.com/ads/manager and create an account if you do not already have one.
2. Click “Create” and choose the objective “Awareness” or “Traffic” (if you want to send people to your blog post).
3. Under “Audience,” set the location to Mold, Flintshire. You can set a radius of 5 to 10 miles to capture surrounding villages as well.
4. Set the age range to 18 to 65+ and leave interests broad. You want to reach everyone, not a niche.
5. Upload your graphic or video as the ad creative. Write a short, factual caption with a link to your blog post.
6. Set your budget. Even £5 per day for a week will reach thousands of people in a small area like Mold.
7. Review and publish.
Facebook will show your ad to people in the target area. You can monitor how many people saw it, how many clicked through, and how many shared it.
How Much Does It Cost to Reach 50% of Mold?
Mold has a population of approximately 10,000 people. Around 7,500 of those are adults. To reach 50% of the adult population (roughly 3,750 people), here are the estimated costs based on typical UK advertising rates for a small, local area:
Facebook typically charges £3 to £8 per 1,000 impressions (CPM) in rural UK areas. To reach 3,750 people at least once, you would need approximately 4,000 to 5,000 impressions. A budget of £20 to £30 spread over 5 to 7 days should comfortably achieve this. Facebook and Instagram ads run from the same platform so you can reach both audiences simultaneously.
Google Ads (Display Network) Estimated cost: £30 to £60
Google Display ads appear on websites and apps. CPM rates in the UK are typically £4 to £12. Targeting a 5 mile radius around Mold with a budget of £40 to £50 over a week would reach a similar number of people. Google Ads are slightly more expensive than Facebook for local awareness campaigns but can complement social media well.
Total Estimated Cost (All Platforms Combined) To reach approximately 50% of adults in the Mold area across Facebook, Instagram, and Google Display: £50 to £100 over one week.
That is less than the cost of a tank of fuel. For under £100 you can put your story in front of half the town. If the content is compelling and people share it organically, you will reach far more than that without spending another penny.
A Final Word on Policing
The modern police force was founded on a simple idea. Sir Robert Peel, who established the Metropolitan Police in 1829, believed that the primary purpose of policing was the prevention of crime. Not the collection of convictions. Not the pursuit of easy statistics. Prevention.
Peel’s ninth principle states: “The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.” The College of Policing still teaches this today. It is the foundation of British policing philosophy.
What that means in practice is straightforward. A police force that prevents a family from being harmed by intervening early is doing its job. A police force that ignores the warning signs because the paperwork is complicated, and then charges the person who tried to raise the alarm, is not.
There is another thing worth knowing. As well as being measured on crime statistics and conviction rates, North Wales Police are also assessed on public confidence and their reputation within the communities they serve. This is a formal performance metric. It matters to them.
That is why complaints matter. Every formal complaint is recorded. Every complaint that is upheld is a mark against the force’s performance. Every complaint that attracts media attention affects public confidence scores. The more people hold the police to account through the proper channels, the more pressure there is for genuine improvement.
I want to be clear about something. The police have a very difficult and often thankless job. Most officers do their best under extraordinary pressure. I have no desire to make their lives harder. But in my experience, some officers are not helping themselves. They are not following due process. They are not treating people with respect. They are allowing bias and personal opinion to influence how they assess evidence.
I believe I was discriminated against profoundly because of my medical diagnosis. My health disclosures were used to undermine my credibility instead of triggering the additional support I was entitled to. That is not acceptable. And the only reason I know it happened is because I submitted a Subject Access Request and read what the officers actually wrote about me when they thought I would never see it.
If you are reading this because something similar happened to you, I hope this guide helps. You deserve to be treated fairly. You deserve to have your evidence assessed on its merits. And if that did not happen, you have every right to say so.
The system only improves when people use it. So use it.
Positively North Wales 