Outgoing Police Chief Constable The Subject of Two Formal Complaints....
- Cleveland Police Exposed
- May 5
- 2 min read
FOI request made by a member of the public reveals the outgoing Chief Constable of Cleveland Police Mark Webster was the subject of two formal complaints brought against him, although the force of no public confidence claims none of those complaints were in relation to 'corruption'....
5th May 2025
A Freedom of Information (FOI) response obtained by a member of the public has revealed two formal complaints which have been made against the outgoing Chief Constable Mark Webster of Cleveland Police—with neither of those complaints reportedly been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) or even the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), despite national statutory guidance requiring such referrals...
The FOI request from the member of the public is said to have sought information about complaints specifically relating to corruption—particularly serious corruption as defined under the IOPC’s own guidelines. The response from Cleveland Police was said to have been 'minimal', with Cleveland Police stating in their response that just two complaints against Cleveland Polices Top Officer had been received in total – with both of those complaints categorised as 'not corruption'.
Further clarification confirmed none of those complaints were referred to either the IOPC or the Cleveland's OPCC in accordance with the mandatory criteria as set out under the applicable statutory guidance...
What's said to be even more of a concern is that the Force’s response claiming only two complaints had been made against Chief Constable Webster since his appointment, one in 2022 and another in 2023, led to neither of those complaints to be deemed serious enough to even trigger mandatory referral requirements.
No complaints were said to have been recorded for 2024 or 2025 at the time of the request, with Cleveland Police reportedly making sure to include a disclaimer that their complaint-recording procedures differ from those of other forces...
Mark Webster will stand down from the force of no public confidence in July 2025 after around three years in the role as Chief Constable of the troubled institution, however critics claim the apparent "merry go round" of police constables being parachuted into the failing institution is evidence that despite claims of 'significant improvement', you merely need to scratch under the surface & you find a force that's sliding ever quickly back into its old ways of corruption & a litany of officers being sacked for Gross Misconduct.
