The number of people claiming compensation against the police is increasing and police forces across the country have had to pay out thousands for claims made against them.
Claims are often put in against a police force if someone feels they have been mistreated or if they feel the police abused their position.
Examples of claims against the police include malicious prosecution, wrongful arrest, sexual misconduct, assault, traffic accidents and property damage.
To gain a true understanding of the growing number of claims made against police forces, Public Interest Lawyers set out to investigate.
How Public Interest Lawyers Can Help
Public Interest Lawyers offers support to people who believe the police have mistreated them and free advice on whether they can claim compensation.
We operate a 24-hour helpline and claim online form, which you can access on this website.
How We Conducted Our Research Into Police Claims
We sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to every police force in England, asking how many claims had been made against the force in the last five years. (Broken down by years 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24)
We also asked how many of these claims were settled and for the damages payment for each financial year. (Broken down by years 2019/2020, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24)
Statistics On Claims Made Against Police Forces
Some claims against the police can be made for exceptional circumstances, for example, forces across the UK paid out more than £300,000 in compensation in the last three years after officers raided the homes of innocent people, according to The Express.
This amount resulted from at least 255 separate cases of police forces battering down the wrong doors.
Another reason for a claim against the police is sexual misconduct. Worryingly, this has become the main source of complaints to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) – the UK police watchdog.
In the year ending March 2023, 1300 police officers and staff across the 43 UK police forces were referred to formal misconduct proceedings as a result of cases such as police complaints, conduct matters and recordable conduct matters.
Also, during this time, a total of 51,605 police complaints involving 42,854 identifiable police officers were finalised; these complaints involved 120,243 allegations.
Essex
Claims made against the police – Essex
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 220 / 73
2020/21 | 204 / 76
2021/22 | 206 / 72
2022/23 | 257 / 72
2023/24 | 258 / 73
Total | 1145 / 366
Police damage payments – Essex
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £343,165.14
2020/21 | £877,364.09
2021/22 | £665,602.27
2022/23 | £577,426.73
2023/24 | £743,978.45
Total | £3,207,536.68
Staffordshire
Claims made against the police – Staffordshire
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 150 / 199
2020/21 | 140 / 163
2021/22 | 194 / 171
2022/23 | 196 / 180
2023/24 | 227 / 179
Total | 907 / 892
Police damage payments – Staffordshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £237,504.65
2020/21 | £135,859.39
2021/22 | £541,599.95
2022/23 | £766,778.27
2023/24 | £552,731.11
Total | £2,234,473.37
Dyfed-Powys
Claims made against the police – Dyfed-Powys
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 36 / 9
2020/21 | 22 / 9
2021/22 | 38 / 11
2022/23 | 36 / 8
2023/24 | 54 / 7
Total | 186 / 44
Police damage payments – Dyfed-Powys
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £78,084.74
2020/21 | £61,153.28
2021/22 | £138,111.69
2022/23 | £33,450.00
2023/24 | £13,280.00
Total | £324,079
Cheshire
Claims made against the police – Cheshire
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 63 / 23
2020/21 | 46 / 13
2021/22 | 74 / 24
2022/23 | 104 / 38
2023/24 | 118 / 37
Total | 405 / 135
Police damage payments – Cheshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £148,812.00
2020/21 | £71,510.00
2021/22 | £242,705.50
2022/23 | £136,588.53
2023/24 | £91,185.00
Total | £690,801.03
Derbyshire
Claims made against the police – Derbyshire
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 176 / 90
2020/21 | 188 / 59
2021/22 | 205 / 49
2022/23 | 245 / 82
2023/24 | 335 / 95
Total | 1149 / 375
Police damage payments – Derbyshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £308,239.11
2020/21 | £139,213.29
2021/22 | £160,309.36
2022/23 | £333,226.10
2023/24 | £334,277.82
Total | £1,275,265.68
North Yorkshire
Claims made against the police – North Yorkshire
No. of settled claims
2019/20 | 24
2020/21 | 18
2021/22 | 20
2022/23 | 24
2023/24 | 30
2024 to date | 22
Total | 138
Police damage payments – North Yorkshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £40,396.34
2020/21 | £17,528.52
2021/22 | £75,792.85
2022/23 | £58,823.40
2023/24 | £63,833.15
2024 to date | £58,030.34
Total | £314,404.60
West Mercia
Claims made against the police – West Mercia
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 185 / 62
2020/21 | 151 / 42
2021/22 | 159 / 35
2022/23 | 142 / 29
2023/24 | 108 / 19
Total | 745 / 187
Police damage payments – West Mercia
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £330,150
2020/21 | £254,287
2021/22 | £492,308
2022/23 | £59,570
2023/24 | £23,600
Total | £1,159,915
Lancashire
Claims made against the police – Lancashire
No. of claims
2019/20 | 98
2020/21 | 76
2021/22 | 125
2022/23 | 158
2023/24 | 314
Total | 771
Police damage payments – Lancashire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £235,446.13
2020/21 | £294,991.62
2021/22 | £31,632.20
2022/23 | £8,937.45
2023/24 | £197,337.97
Total | £768,345.37
Scotland
Claims made against the police – Scotland
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 403 / 76
2020/21 | 386 / 56
2021/22 | 515 / 64
2022/23 | 570 / 70
2023/24 | 564 / 54
Total | 2438 / 320
Police damage payments – Scotland
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £540,626
2020/21 | £493,571
2021/22 | £1,683,240
2022/23 | £241,284
2023/24 | £319,097
Total | £3,277,818
Nottinghamshire
Claims made against the police- Nottinghamshire
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 217 / 107
2020/21 | 230 / 89
2021/22 | 234 / 96
2022/23 | 272 / 102
2023/24 | 346 / 92
Total | 1299 / 486
Police damage payments – Nottinghamshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £336,620.03
2020/21 | £292,269.05
2021/22 | £455,190.58
2022/23 | £440,519.74
2023/24 | £297,057.22
Total | £1,821,656.62
West Yorkshire
Claims made against the police – West Yorkshire
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 638 / 190
2020/21 | 557 / 190
2021/22 | 624 / 160
2022/23 | 669 / 167
2023/24 | 644 / 103
2024 to date | 319 / 10
Total | 3451 / 820
Police damage payments – West Yorkshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £1,017,549
2020/21 | £1,412,867
2021/22 | £736,054
2022/23 | £553,688
2023/24 | £272,074
2024 to date | £11,101
Total | £4,003,333
Avon and Somerset
Claims made against the police – Avon and Somerset
No. of claims
2019/20 | 56
2020/21 | 57
2021/22 | 77
2022/23 | 88
2023/24 | 96
Total | 374
Total cost of claims (£): £3,529,091.25
Bedfordshire
Claims made against the police – Bedfordshire
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 107 / 68
2020/21 | 96 / 57
2021/22 | 97 / 46
2022/23 | 103 / 54
2023/24 | 102 / 36
Total | 505 / 261
Police damage payments – Bedfordshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £264,732.73
2020/21 | £286,468.10
2021/22 | £140,034.18
2022/23 | £123,608.34
2023/24 | £81,520.21
Total | £896,363.56
Cleveland Police
Claims made against the police – Cleveland
No. of settled claims
2019/20 | 14
2020/21 | 12
2021/22 | 8
2022/23 | 24
2023/24 | 19
Total | 77
Police damage payments – Cleveland
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £138,438
2020/21 | £38,258
2021/22 | £20,100
2022/23 | £136,006
2023/24 | £88,865
Total | £421,667
Gwent
Claims made against the police – Gwent
No. of claims
2019/20 | 110
2020/21 | 127
2021/22 | 119
2022/23 | 120
2023/24 | 125
Total | 601
Hertfordshire
Claims made against the police – Hertfordshire
No. of claims
2019/20 | 36
2020/21 | 53
2021/22 | 91
2022/23 | 85
2023/24 | 106
Total | 371
Police damage payments – Hertfordshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £97,484
2020/21 | £81,502
2021/22 | £147,800
2022/23 | £173,528
2023/24 | £183,537
Total | £683,851
Leicestershire
Claims made against the police – Leicestershire
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 168 / 66
2020/21 | 173 / 60
2021/22 | 172 / 76
2022/23 | 178 / 52
2023/24 | 218 / 58
Total | 909 / 312
Police damage payments – Leicestershire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £335,236.91
2020/21 | £150,109.02
2021/22 | £730,722.16
2022/23 | £120,903.78
2023/24 | £475,346.10
Total | £1,812,317.97
Lincolnshire
Claims made against the police – Lincolnshire
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 58 / 28
2020/21 | 44 / 19
2021/22 | 129 / 44
2022/23 | 105 / 31
2023/24 | 104 / 27
Total | 440 / 149
Police damage payments – Lincolnshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £128,865.91
2020/21 | £39,467.89
2021/22 | £219,948.08
2022/23 | £68,076.94
2023/24 | £138,188.98
Total | £594,547.80
Norfolk
Claims made against the police – Norfolk
No. of claims
2019/20 | 475
2020/21 | 549
2021/22 | 588
2022/23 | 569
2023/24 | 693
Total | 2874
Police damage payments – Norfolk
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £503,209.96
2020/21 | £331,782.26
2021/22 | £158,221.87
2022/23 | £218,918.22
2023/24 | £289,610.36
Total | £1,501,742.67
North Wales
Claims made against the police – North Wales
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 78 / 47
2020/21 | 63 / 33
2021/22 | 69 / 31
2022/23 | 100 / 28
2023/24* | 58 / 20
*No Motor claims data for 23/24
Total | 440 / 149
Police damage payments – North Wales
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £110,217.84
2020/21 | £114,407.99
2021/22 | £131,668.69
2022/23 | £238,123.50
2023/24* | £92,750.06
*No Motor claims data for 23/24
Total | £687,168.08
Northumbria
Claims made against the police – Northumbria
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 59 / 26
2020/21 | 216 / 54
2021/22 | 228 / 63
2022/23 | 255 / 50
2023/24 | 287 / 65
Total | 1045 / 258
Police damage payments – Northumbria
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £141,338.74
2020/21 | £225,238.35
2021/22 | £249,487.57
2022/23 | £262,130.88
2023/24 | £331,833.64
Total | £1,210,029.18
South Yorkshire
Claims made against the police – South Yorkshire
No. of claims
2019/20 | 348
2020/21 | 337
2021/22 | 322
2022/23 | 368
2023/24 | 400
Total | 1775
Suffolk
Claims made against the police – Suffolk
No. of claims
2019/20 | 427
2020/21 | 441
2021/22 | 448
2022/23 | 442
2023/24 | 499
Total | 2257
Police claim costs – Suffolk
Total cost of claims (£)
2019/20 | £279,988.20
2020/21 | £350,605.42
2021/22 | £201,507.59
2022/23 | £217,007.12
2023/24 | £176,166.42
Total | £1,225,274.75
Northamptonshire
Claims made against the police – Northamptonshire
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 105 / 46
2020/21 | 134 / 56
2021/22 |130 / 56
2022/23 | 145 / 45
2023/24 | 192 / 70
Total | 706 / 273
Police damage payments – Northamptonshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £219,838.36
2020/21 | £124,892.18
2021/22 | £121,724.22
2022/23 | £153,796.27
2023/24 | £248,995.11
Total | £869,246.14
London (Met Police Service)
Claims made against the police – London
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 2869 / 1107
2020/21 | 2961 / 1037
2021/22 | 3167 / 1162
2022/23 | 3142 / 1097
2023/24 | 3030 / 1108
Total | 15169 / 5511
Police damage payments – London
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £6,793,127
2020/21 | £7,976,427
2021/22 | £7,961,019
2022/23 | £7,542,974
2023/24 | £11,659,192
Total | £41,932,739
Cambridgeshire
Claims made against the police – Cambridgeshire
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 96 / 54
2020/21 | 111 / 49
2021/22 | 131 / 68
2022/23 | 123 / 46
2023/24 | 108 / 46
Total | 569 / 263
Police damage payments – Cambridgeshire
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £167,975.18
2020/21 | £156,434.54
2021/22 | £137,431.51
2022/23 | £101,020.51
2023/24 | £74,687.45
Total | £637,549.19
Sussex
Claims made against the police – Sussex
No. of claims
2019/20 | 281
2020/21 | 324
2021/22 | 313
2022/23 | 357
2023/24 | 253
Total | 1528
Northern Ireland
Claims made against the police – Northern Ireland
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 456 / 245
2020/21 | 377 / 89
2021/22 | 376 / 169
2022/23 | 362 / 179
2023/24 | 781 / 132
Total | 2352 / 814
Police damage payments – Northern Ireland
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £1,382,709.25
2020/21 | £768,403.35
2021/22 | £1,099,171.66
2022/23 | £1,623,222.21
2023/24 | £1,031,239.85
Total | £5,904,746.32
Greater Manchester
Claims made against the police – Greater Manchester
No. of claims
2021/22 | 333
2022/23 | 472
2023/24 | 624
Total | 1429
Kent
Claims made against the police – Kent
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 116 / 42
2020/21 | 73 / 19
2021/22 | 84 / 15
2022/23 | 136 / 25
2023/24 | 117 / 20
Total | 526 / 121
Police damage payments – Kent
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £115,743
2020/21 | £231,834
2021/22 | £84,997
2022/23 | £110,791
2023/24 | £60,240
Total | £603,605
Dorset
Claims made against the police – Dorset
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 24 / 2
2020/21 | 32 / 3
2021/22 | 32 / 7
2022/23 | 42 / 10
2023/24 | 37 / 8
Total | 167 / 30
Police damage payments – Dorset
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £9,200
2020/21 | £8,100
2021/22 | £14,814
2022/23 | £19,500
2023/24 | £27,250
Total | £78,864
Devon and Cornwall
Claims made against the police – Devon and Cornwall
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 45 / 2
2020/21 | 54 / 7
2021/22 | 65 / 6
2022/23 | 88 / 11
2023/24 | 97 / 7
Total | 329 / 33
Police damage payments – Devon and Cornwall
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £32,250.60
2020/21 | £15,306.62
2021/22 | £65,292.57
2022/23 | £136,120.96
2023/24 | £30,837.00
Total | £279,807.75
West Midlands Police
Employer liability claims made against the police – West Midlands
No. of claims
2019/20 | 21
2020/21 | 19
2021/22 | 17
2022/23 | 11
2023/24 | 33
Total | 101
Police claim costs – West Midlands
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £287,015.00
2020/21 | £115,176.72
2021/22 | £100,667.05
2022/23 | £46,148.00
2023/24 | £76,843.80
Total | £625,850.57
South Wales Police
Claims made against the police – South Wales
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 118 / 27
2020/21 | 124 / 27
2021/22 | 150 / 35
2022/23 | 165 / 28
2023/24 | 178 / 44
Total | 735 / 161
Police damage payments – South Wales
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £57,987.61
2020/21 | £40,490.48
2021/22 | £39,100.53
2022/23 | £35,630.14
2023/24 | £125,366.84
Total | £298,575.60
Surrey Police
Claims made against the police – Surrey
No. of claims / settled claims
2019/20 | 190 / 92
2020/21 | 240 / 119
2021/22 | 260 / 75
2022/23 | 203 / 83
2023/24 | 202 / 56
Total | 1095 / 425
Police damage payments – Surrey
Total paid out in damages (£)
2019/20 | £249,780
2020/21 | £234,388
2021/22 | £124,724
2022/23 | £184,201
2023/24 | £108,565
Total | £901,658
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary
Claims made against the police – Hampshire & Isle of Wight
No. of claims / settled claims
2022 | 146 / 26
2023 | 118 / 41
2024 | 167 / 40
Total | 431 / 107
Police damage payments – Hampshire & Isle of Wight
Total paid out in damages (£)
2022 | £172,709.00
2023 | £290,469.19
2024 | £361,881.50
Total | £825,059.69
You can learn more about making a road traffic accident claim in our dedicated guide, which explains how the process works and how we can help.