I had cause today to want to make contact with Surrey Police's Professional Standards department (their complaints department to you or I).

You can therefore imagine my shock on finding that the one part of the Surrey Police that is supposed to investigate its own Police officers for unprofessional behaviour or gross misconduct is itself still flagrantly breaking the law (specifically Part III of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 regarding Misleading Price Indications).

On their own webpage on the Surrey Police website at www.surrey.police.uk/aboutus_item.asp?artid=4183 Professional Standards quote the phone number of 0845 125 22 22 and make the claim that it is a "local rate number"

What hope is there that Surrey Police will ever get rid of their ripoff 0845 non emergency calls number that they expect the public to call instead of clogging up 999 when their own Professional Standards department are themselves openly and contemptuously both breaking the law and ignoring the advice of the ASA, COI and the recommendations made by Sir David Varney regarding phone number use in the public sector.

I tried the Independent Police Complaints Commission to see if they would take a complaint about a Police Force's Professional Standards Department breaking the law but they said that their job was only to look in to complaints against individual Police officers.  Perhaps I therefore have to make a complaint against Surrey Police's Superintendent of Professional Standards for presumably signing off on the content of this web page?  Alternatively I perhaps need to file a complaint against whichever Superintendent, Commander or other senior officer (eg the Chief Constable) is responsible for the content of their website 

To make matters worse when I tried calling the Surrey Police switchboard on their geographic number listed on this website and asked to be connected to Professional Standards I was repeatedly put through to extensions of individual Police officers all of whom were on voicemail (at 2.30pm) and one of whom was out of the office until May 12th.  Reluctantly I also then called the supposedly dedicated 0845 number for Professional Standards only to find it then just put me through to the main Surrey Police switchboard (available on the geographic phone number on this website) who tried the same extensions with no one at their desk and all routing to voicemail.

Finally I was transferred to their Contact Centre via their switchboard and when I complained about the use of the 0845 number by Professional Standards I was told it was "local rate" and when I then complained this person was breaking the law by making such statements they then threatened to cut me off and simply refused to accept 0845 was not "local rate".

This seems to be another clear cut case of the Police apparently feeling that they are above the law.

bill wrote on Apr 30^th, 2008 at 6:41pm:


Yes I know about Essex Police's new 03 number but what about all the other UK police forces like Surrey still flagrantly ripping off the general public when they need to make contact with them?

Dave wrote on Apr 30^th, 2008 at 8:31pm:


Yes I do know that Dave.

But its the web page of their Professional Standards department, who are supposed to put right complaints about failings by Surrey Police and their Police officers that my post is about.  Note that Surrey Police did formerly claim their 0845 number was "local rate" on the home page on their website.  That only came to an end some time after my questions as a local Councillor to Surrey Police on this issue at the annual conference of Surrey Police Authority at Epsom racecourse, I think at some point in 2005.

So my point stands.  That the part of Surrey Police meant to right wrongoing in the Police force are themselves currently breaking the law.

Also they are undoubtedly to put it mildly being economical with the truth when they say they do not profit from the provision of their 0845 numbers.  We all know they get reduced price outgoing calls or a subsidised phone equipment maintenance contract as a result of the use of the 0845 phone number.

It seems members of the Surrey Police are possibly reading this website then.

Alternatively I did also make a complaint to them yesterday about this on the phone but so far no one has called me back about it.

I'm still going to email the Chief Constable when I have a moment though to draw his attention to this matter and to ask when they plan to follow Essex Police's good example by replacing their 0845 number with an 03 prefixed number.