About us 

Professional Standards

The Professional Standards department assesses and coordinates the follow up to any complaint made about the conduct of Thames Valley Police officers and police staff.

The aims of the Professional Standards department are to:

  • Investigate allegations of misconduct and to prove/disprove the involvement of any member of the Thames Valley Police extended family.
  • Work on and analyse information/intelligence on any unethical police activity from a range of sources.
  • Assist the Force with organisational learning.

The department was set up as a proactive unit within Thames Valley Police in 2001. The most typical allegations that the department receives are, for example, about incivility, a failure in duty or the use of excessive force during arrest situations.

[image: Chief Superintendent Andrew Murray] The head of the Professional Standards department is Detective Chief Superintendent Andrew Murray.

Andrew graduated from Manchester University with a BA (Hons) in Politics and Economics and joined the Metropolitan Police in 1984. He spent ten years working in north London police stations mostly as a detective and transferred to Thames Valley in 1995. Andrew has enjoyed both uniform and detective supervisory roles mostly in Oxfordshire and spent some time as Senior Investigating Officer responsible for animal rights investigations for the Force.

Prior to becoming the head of Professional Standards, Andrew was the Local Police Area commander for South Oxfordshire and then Oxford City.

Making a complaint

Thames Valley Police takes complaints very seriously. Please contact us if you’re unhappy with the service that you’ve received, or wish to raise an issue.

Your complaint will be handled by one of two Thames Valley Police departments – either Professional Standards, for issues relating to police conduct, or the Quality of Service department, for organisational issues such as the speed of police response. Alternatively, it may be referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)

The IPCC oversees the system for dealing with a complaint about inappropriate conduct of police officers and police staff. They deal with some very serious complaints about matters such as, for example, fatal police pursuits, shootings, and a death in custody.

The IPCC took responsibility for overseeing and developing the complaints system in April 2004.

Further information

Useful information