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Think first then dial

Annual report 2019-20 - Public complaints

Number of public complaints reported

Complaint categories

Sub-categories

Example

Number of Complaints

2019-20

Professional behaviour

Staff attitude

Failure to demonstrate values such as empathy, respect, fairness, courtesy, extra mile; cultural competency

14

Professional behaviour

Staff competency

Failure to action service request; poorly informed decisions; incorrect or incomplete service provided

811

Professional behaviour

Staff knowledge

Lack of service specific knowledge; incomplete or out-of-date knowledge

0

Communication

Communication quality

Inadequate, delayed or absent communication with customer

0

Communication

Confidentiality

Customer’s confidentiality or privacy not respected; information shared incorrectly

69

Service delivery

Systems/technology

System offline; inaccessible to customer; incorrect result/information provided; poor system design

0

Service delivery

Access to services

Service difficult to find; location poor; facilities/ environment poor standard; not accessible to customers with disabilities

54

Service delivery

Process

Processing error; incorrect process used; delay in processing application; process not customer responsive

0

Policy

Policy application

Incorrect policy interpretation; incorrect policy applied; conflicting policy advice given

0

Policy

Policy content

Policy content difficult to understand; policy unreasonable or disadvantages customer

0

Service quality

Information

Incorrect, incomplete, out dated or inadequate information; not fit for purpose

0

Service quality

Access to information

Information difficult to understand, hard to find or difficult to use; not plain English

0

Service quality

Timeliness

Lack of staff punctuality; excessive waiting times (outside of service standard); timelines not met

229

Service quality

Safety

Maintenance; personal or family safety; duty of care not shown; poor security service/ premises; poor cleanliness

0

Service quality

Service responsiveness

Service design doesn’t meet customer needs; poor service fit with customer expectations

867

No case to answer

No case to answer

Third party; customer misunderstanding; redirected to another agency; insufficient information to investigate; complaint is about SAPOL policy position etc.

101

  

Total

2 145

Additional Metrics

Total

% complaints resolved within policy timeframes*

100%

*              Determined in accordance with Section 13(5) Police Complaints and Discipline Act 2016.

Data for previous years is available at:

https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/annual-reporting-data

Service Improvements resulting from complaints or consumer suggestions over 2019-20

The introduction of body worn video has resulted in improved timeframes for assessing complaint matters and determining appropriate outcomes. The body worn video provides for prompt review of the police conduct, and had on many occasions quickly cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.

SAPOL’s Internal Investigation Section (IIS) has established a new process to focus on ‘Early Intervention’ with officers who are identified as having an  over-representation in some of the areas monitored by the SAPOL’s Ethical and Professional Standards Branch. These areas include internal and external complaints, ‘Use of Force’ reports, bullying and harassment complaints, on-duty expiation notices and conflict of interest declarations.

The IIS team speak to any officer who meets the ‘Early Intervention’ criteria so as to further determine whether there are any background issues the officer is facing which can be resolved through training and education or other forms of counselling. The IIS team can also offer advice on how to better resolve future situations so that their conduct improves and is therefore less likely to be the subject of a complaint. The section can organise support and assistance from other areas of SAPOL or external providers where welfare issues are a concerning factor.

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