Any member of the public can use the statutory police complaints system to express dissatisfaction with the actions of the police or a police officer, providing they have been directly affected by those actions or lack of action.

They can do so by making a complaint to the police force directly or via the portal on the website of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which also includes more information on the police complaints system.

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the adequacy of equipment, training and guidance available to officers responding to vehicles being driven dangerously. These are matters for policing who are best placed to assess local risks and operational needs. However, forces are expected to ensure that officers are appropriately trained, equipped and supported to carry out their duties safely and effectively.

Police have a range of tactics and equipment available to manage incidents involving dangerous driving, decisions on which tactic to adopt in each individual circumstance are decisions for police forces according to the circumstances of each case.

The Government has strengthened the framework for police driving through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and regulations prescribing police driver training standards laid in 2023 and 2025. The College of Policing has also introduced licensing for police driver training providers.

The Home Office continues to work with the National Police Chiefs' Council and the College of Policing to support effective roads policing and officer safety.

Responsibility for the administration of the police pension scheme lies with individual police forces, with each Chief Constable acting as scheme manager under the police pension regulations. Pension administrators are appointed and managed locally by forces.

The Home Office continues to engage with policing partners on issues affecting the administration of police pension schemes and recognises the importance of members receiving timely and accurate pension information.

The Home Office works closely with policing partners, including the National Police Chiefs' Council and the Office of the Police Chief Scientific Adviser, to support the development, testing and evaluation of technologies that can improve public and officer safety.

Through this work, the Department supports policing to assess emerging technologies, build the evidence base for their use and identify opportunities to learn from innovation and best practice, including developments in other countries where relevant. The Home Office also supports research, development and trialling activity in a range of areas aligned to policing operational needs.

Decisions on the operational use of technology are for chief constables, who are responsible for ensuring that any technology deployed by their force is lawful, proportionate and suitable for local policing requirements.

The Government takes the safety of police officers extremely seriously and is clear that police officers should have the best possible protection when facing physical violence.

The Home Office sets robust standards for a range of personal protective equipment used by policing, including protective headwear, body armour (including ballistic protection and slash resistance), flame retardant overalls and irritant sprays. This equipment is subject to a comprehensive testing and certification process which supports consistency and ensures confidence in police personal protective equipment. These standards are based on police operational requirements and outline the minimum performance requirements and test methods to ensure that protective equipment purchased for police officers is safe and fit for purpose. Manufacturers and police forces can submit equipment for testing against these standards. Equipment that meets the required criteria is certified as compliant with Home Office standards.

To build and maintain public consent for the police use of AI, the police must test and deploy AI responsibly. That means deployments must be lawful, transparent, ethical, well governed and based on robust assessments of accuracy and bias. A core reason for setting up PoliceAI is to support Chief Constables in making informed decisions about the AI they use and to assist with responsible adoption.

The government is committed to transparency on police use of AI and PoliceAI will publish and maintain a registry of AI tools in use across policing. This is being developed in partnership with academics and is in testing with forces. We intend to launch it as soon as possible this year. The registry will include details on the steps taken by the force to deploy the AI responsibly, including ethical assessment and accountability arrangements.

On accountability, it is up to Chief Constables what AI they deploy and procure, accountable to their elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). PCCs and the public will be able to scrutinise decisions with the assistance of the registry, so there will be transparency if Chiefs ignore or do not make use of PoliceAI’s expertise. As a backstop, there are powers in Section 53 and 53a of the Police Act 1996 which the College of Policing and/or the Home Secretary can use to regulate police use of AI. Use of these is kept under review.

To build and maintain public consent for the police use of AI, the police must test and deploy AI responsibly. That means deployments must be lawful, transparent, ethical, well governed and based on robust assessments of accuracy and bias. A core reason for setting up PoliceAI is to support Chief Constables in making informed decisions about the AI they use and to assist with responsible adoption.

The government is committed to transparency on police use of AI and PoliceAI will publish and maintain a registry of AI tools in use across policing. This is being developed in partnership with academics and is in testing with forces. We intend to launch it as soon as possible this year. The registry will include details on the steps taken by the force to deploy the AI responsibly, including ethical assessment and accountability arrangements.

On accountability, it is up to Chief Constables what AI they deploy and procure, accountable to their elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). PCCs and the public will be able to scrutinise decisions with the assistance of the registry, so there will be transparency if Chiefs ignore or do not make use of PoliceAI’s expertise. As a backstop, there are powers in Section 53 and 53a of the Police Act 1996 which the College of Policing and/or the Home Secretary can use to regulate police use of AI. Use of these is kept under review.

The Government recognises the benefits that drone technology can provide to policing operations. The Home Office has supported police forces to develop Drone as First Responders (DFR) through funding of the NPCC Drones Programme since 2022. This programme aims to trial and better understand the benefits of these innovative drone capabilities for future police aviation, as well as standardise and professionalise the use of drones across all 43 forces in England and Wales to develop a safe and effective national drone capability for policing.

To date, the Home Office has allocated over £11m to the NPCC Drones programme, and through this, six forces are now operating DFR, all of which are extending into multi-city operations, and an additional eight forces will be coming online this year. The programme will contribute towards a better understanding of the role that future and current drone technology can play as part of police air support, including rural areas.

Though the department has not undertaken its own separate assessment on the operational benefits of drones to policing, we support and oversee the funding for the NPCC Drones programme, who are investigating Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flight, analysing results, and mapping benefits to policing. Therefore, the Home Office has considered evidence provided by policing partners on the operational benefits of drone technology, which indicate improved response times, positive public safety outcomes, and efficient use of police resources. The Government will continue to monitor emerging evidence from the programme and operational deployments to inform future policy development and funding decisions.

Regarding rural crime, this year the programme is focussing on developing a longer-endurance fixed-wing capability, which will provide a more rapid response in large rural areas than current drone capabilities, which are either shorter range or still need to travel to the scene by car. All the benefits drones provide to police operations generally will apply to rural crime, and developing a safe and effective drone capability will strengthen rural policing, improve response times and support enforcement in harder-to-reach areas. However, the programme is proactively working on getting them to rural countryside locations more quickly and ensuring they have the right equipment on board to allow a positive outcome. The programme is also working with the National Rural Crime Unit to ensure that rural crime is appropriately considered when implementing national police use of drone capabilities.

The Government recognises the benefits that drone technology can provide to policing operations. The Home Office has supported police forces to develop Drone as First Responders (DFR) through funding of the NPCC Drones Programme since 2022. This programme aims to trial and better understand the benefits of these innovative drone capabilities for future police aviation, as well as standardise and professionalise the use of drones across all 43 forces in England and Wales to develop a safe and effective national drone capability for policing.

To date, the Home Office has allocated over £11m to the NPCC Drones programme, and through this, six forces are now operating DFR, all of which are extending into multi-city operations, and an additional eight forces will be coming online this year. The programme will contribute towards a better understanding of the role that future and current drone technology can play as part of police air support, including rural areas.

Though the department has not undertaken its own separate assessment on the operational benefits of drones to policing, we support and oversee the funding for the NPCC Drones programme, who are investigating Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flight, analysing results, and mapping benefits to policing. Therefore, the Home Office has considered evidence provided by policing partners on the operational benefits of drone technology, which indicate improved response times, positive public safety outcomes, and efficient use of police resources. The Government will continue to monitor emerging evidence from the programme and operational deployments to inform future policy development and funding decisions.

Regarding rural crime, this year the programme is focussing on developing a longer-endurance fixed-wing capability, which will provide a more rapid response in large rural areas than current drone capabilities, which are either shorter range or still need to travel to the scene by car. All the benefits drones provide to police operations generally will apply to rural crime, and developing a safe and effective drone capability will strengthen rural policing, improve response times and support enforcement in harder-to-reach areas. However, the programme is proactively working on getting them to rural countryside locations more quickly and ensuring they have the right equipment on board to allow a positive outcome. The programme is also working with the National Rural Crime Unit to ensure that rural crime is appropriately considered when implementing national police use of drone capabilities.

The Government recognises the benefits that drone technology can provide to policing operations. The Home Office has supported police forces to develop Drone as First Responders (DFR) through funding of the NPCC Drones Programme since 2022. This programme aims to trial and better understand the benefits of these innovative drone capabilities for future police aviation, as well as standardise and professionalise the use of drones across all 43 forces in England and Wales to develop a safe and effective national drone capability for policing.

To date, the Home Office has allocated over £11m to the NPCC Drones programme, and through this, six forces are now operating DFR, all of which are extending into multi-city operations, and an additional eight forces will be coming online this year. The programme will contribute towards a better understanding of the role that future and current drone technology can play as part of police air support, including rural areas.

Though the department has not undertaken its own separate assessment on the operational benefits of drones to policing, we support and oversee the funding for the NPCC Drones programme, who are investigating Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flight, analysing results, and mapping benefits to policing. Therefore, the Home Office has considered evidence provided by policing partners on the operational benefits of drone technology, which indicate improved response times, positive public safety outcomes, and efficient use of police resources. The Government will continue to monitor emerging evidence from the programme and operational deployments to inform future policy development and funding decisions.

Regarding rural crime, this year the programme is focussing on developing a longer-endurance fixed-wing capability, which will provide a more rapid response in large rural areas than current drone capabilities, which are either shorter range or still need to travel to the scene by car. All the benefits drones provide to police operations generally will apply to rural crime, and developing a safe and effective drone capability will strengthen rural policing, improve response times and support enforcement in harder-to-reach areas. However, the programme is proactively working on getting them to rural countryside locations more quickly and ensuring they have the right equipment on board to allow a positive outcome. The programme is also working with the National Rural Crime Unit to ensure that rural crime is appropriately considered when implementing national police use of drone capabilities.

The Government recognises the benefits that drone technology can provide to policing operations. The Home Office has supported police forces to develop Drone as First Responders (DFR) through funding of the NPCC Drones Programme since 2022. This programme aims to trial and better understand the benefits of these innovative drone capabilities for future police aviation, as well as standardise and professionalise the use of drones across all 43 forces in England and Wales to develop a safe and effective national drone capability for policing.

To date, the Home Office has allocated over £11m to the NPCC Drones programme, and through this, six forces are now operating DFR, all of which are extending into multi-city operations, and an additional eight forces will be coming online this year. The programme will contribute towards a better understanding of the role that future and current drone technology can play as part of police air support, including rural areas.

Though the department has not undertaken its own separate assessment on the operational benefits of drones to policing, we support and oversee the funding for the NPCC Drones programme, who are investigating Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flight, analysing results, and mapping benefits to policing. Therefore, the Home Office has considered evidence provided by policing partners on the operational benefits of drone technology, which indicate improved response times, positive public safety outcomes, and efficient use of police resources. The Government will continue to monitor emerging evidence from the programme and operational deployments to inform future policy development and funding decisions.

Regarding rural crime, this year the programme is focussing on developing a longer-endurance fixed-wing capability, which will provide a more rapid response in large rural areas than current drone capabilities, which are either shorter range or still need to travel to the scene by car. All the benefits drones provide to police operations generally will apply to rural crime, and developing a safe and effective drone capability will strengthen rural policing, improve response times and support enforcement in harder-to-reach areas. However, the programme is proactively working on getting them to rural countryside locations more quickly and ensuring they have the right equipment on board to allow a positive outcome. The programme is also working with the National Rural Crime Unit to ensure that rural crime is appropriately considered when implementing national police use of drone capabilities.

The Government recognises the benefits that drone technology can provide to policing operations. The Home Office has supported police forces to develop Drone as First Responders (DFR) through funding of the NPCC Drones Programme since 2022. This programme aims to trial and better understand the benefits of these innovative drone capabilities for future police aviation, as well as standardise and professionalise the use of drones across all 43 forces in England and Wales to develop a safe and effective national drone capability for policing.

To date, the Home Office has allocated over £11m to the NPCC Drones programme, and through this, six forces are now operating DFR, all of which are extending into multi-city operations, and an additional eight forces will be coming online this year. The programme will contribute towards a better understanding of the role that future and current drone technology can play as part of police air support, including rural areas.

Though the department has not undertaken its own separate assessment on the operational benefits of drones to policing, we support and oversee the funding for the NPCC Drones programme, who are investigating Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flight, analysing results, and mapping benefits to policing. Therefore, the Home Office has considered evidence provided by policing partners on the operational benefits of drone technology, which indicate improved response times, positive public safety outcomes, and efficient use of police resources. The Government will continue to monitor emerging evidence from the programme and operational deployments to inform future policy development and funding decisions.

Regarding rural crime, this year the programme is focussing on developing a longer-endurance fixed-wing capability, which will provide a more rapid response in large rural areas than current drone capabilities, which are either shorter range or still need to travel to the scene by car. All the benefits drones provide to police operations generally will apply to rural crime, and developing a safe and effective drone capability will strengthen rural policing, improve response times and support enforcement in harder-to-reach areas. However, the programme is proactively working on getting them to rural countryside locations more quickly and ensuring they have the right equipment on board to allow a positive outcome. The programme is also working with the National Rural Crime Unit to ensure that rural crime is appropriately considered when implementing national police use of drone capabilities.

The Government recognises the benefits that drone technology can provide to policing operations. The Home Office has supported police forces to develop Drone as First Responders (DFR) through funding of the NPCC Drones Programme since 2022. This programme aims to trial and better understand the benefits of these innovative drone capabilities for future police aviation, as well as standardise and professionalise the use of drones across all 43 forces in England and Wales to develop a safe and effective national drone capability for policing.

To date, the Home Office has allocated over £11m to the NPCC Drones programme, and through this, six forces are now operating DFR, all of which are extending into multi-city operations, and an additional eight forces will be coming online this year. The programme will contribute towards a better understanding of the role that future and current drone technology can play as part of police air support, including rural areas.

Though the department has not undertaken its own separate assessment on the operational benefits of drones to policing, we support and oversee the funding for the NPCC Drones programme, who are investigating Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flight, analysing results, and mapping benefits to policing. Therefore, the Home Office has considered evidence provided by policing partners on the operational benefits of drone technology, which indicate improved response times, positive public safety outcomes, and efficient use of police resources. The Government will continue to monitor emerging evidence from the programme and operational deployments to inform future policy development and funding decisions.

Regarding rural crime, this year the programme is focussing on developing a longer-endurance fixed-wing capability, which will provide a more rapid response in large rural areas than current drone capabilities, which are either shorter range or still need to travel to the scene by car. All the benefits drones provide to police operations generally will apply to rural crime, and developing a safe and effective drone capability will strengthen rural policing, improve response times and support enforcement in harder-to-reach areas. However, the programme is proactively working on getting them to rural countryside locations more quickly and ensuring they have the right equipment on board to allow a positive outcome. The programme is also working with the National Rural Crime Unit to ensure that rural crime is appropriately considered when implementing national police use of drone capabilities.

Provision of interpreters and translation and language services, including via social media, are matters for Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners, or equivalents. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their assessment of operational and community requirements, and available resource.