It is our policy to conduct our cases to the highest standard possible. We deal with victims, members of the public and others through our work promptly and courteously. Although we always endeavour to provide a high quality service, occasionally there may be times when you feel we haven't.
Our aim is to treat complaints seriously and to deal with them in confidence, fairly and as quickly as possible. We also want to learn from complaints made about us, to improve our service in future.
- The types of complaint we deal with
- How to make a complaint
- The information you should provide
- How we will handle your complaint
- Our response times
- What to do if you are not satisfied with how your complaint was handled
The types of complaint we deal with
Complaints covered by our external complaints procedures include:
- Poor staff behaviour
- Professional misconduct
- Poor compliance with our non-casework policies and procedures
Complaints about the conduct of people who work at the SFO, but are not members of the SFO (such as counsel, police officers and temporary / contract members of staff) should be addressed to the SFO, whereupon they will be passed to the relevant employer or regulatory body.
If you have questions about the legal process, decisions to prosecute or about our use of statutory powers, you should address them to the SFO lawyer in charge of the case (the 'Case Manager').
How to make a complaint
You can make a complaint in the following two ways:
1. By email: Online contact form
2. In writing:
The Complaints Officer
Serious Fraud Office
Elm House
10-16 Elm Street
London, WC1X 0BJ
We request that all complaints be made in writing in the first instance.
The information you should provide
It is important that you give us as much information as possible. Where possible you should include:
- Name of the employee(s) whom you are complaining about;
- Full details about the complaint (including times, dates, locations, forms of communication, SFO case reference);
- Whether there is any documentary evidence to support your complaint;
- What outcome you are looking for;
- Your full name, address and preferred contact details (including your telephone number and email address).
How we will handle your complaint
Once it has been determined that your complaint should be dealt with under the complaints procedures (see 'The types of complaint we deal with' above), the following procedures will apply:
- The complaints officer will review your complaint and determine whether there is sufficient information to proceed with it (they may ask you for clarification or request further information);
- The complaints officer and Head of Assurance will review your
complaint to determine how it will be handled. Depending on the
nature of the complaint and individuals concerned, there are three
outcomes from this assessment:
- If your complaint is about an individual who is not an SFO employee, we will notify you of this in writing. Your complaint will be passed to the relevant employer or regulatory body. Please be advised that if your complaint is about a non-SFO member of staff, the SFO's complaint procedures will not apply.
- If the complaint is considered a 'routine' complaint (for example the result of inappropriate behaviour, rudeness, or general staff misconduct), it will be dealt with through the management chain. In this instance, your complaint will be forwarded to the line manager of the individual about whom you are complaining. The line manager will then correspond with you directly to resolve the issues you have raised, and the complaints officer will oversee this process.
- If the complaint is of a more serious nature (for example if criminality is alleged), then the Director will appoint an independent reviewer (external to the SFO) to conduct an investigation into the complaint. In this instance, the independent reviewer will correspond with you directly. At the end of the review, you will be supplied with a report detailing the findings.
- The complaints officer will (in most cases*) speak with the individual(s) whom the complaint is about. This is necessary to establish any additional facts which may be relevant when considering our response to you;
- If appropriate, we will try to address your complaint informally by either a telephone call or in writing;
- If you exhaust the complaints procedure and remain dissatisfied, your complaint will be passed on to the Attorney General's Office (AGO). Please see 'What to do if you are not satisfied with how your complaint was handled'.
*If the complaint is of a particularly contentious nature, the individual will not be consulted.
Our response times
- We will acknowledge receipt of a written complaint within five working days of receiving your letter;
- In most cases, we will provide a full response to your complaint within twenty working days of receiving your letter;
- If referred to an independent reviewer, we aim to provide a full response within forty working days of receiving your letter.
If we cannot meet the above specified targets, we will explain why and tell you when we intend to respond in full.
What to do if you are not satisfied with how your complaint was handled
In the event that you remain dissatisfied with our handling of your complaint, you should contact the Attorney General's Office, who has overall responsibility for the work of the SFO.
Please note that the AGO will not interfere with our complaints process while it is in progress.
The AGO's aim in conducting a review is to deal with complaints fairly, sensitively and in confidence, and to judge whether the questions you have posed were answered fully. This examination is not a legal exercise, but is aimed at ascertaining whether the SFO correctly followed its stated complaints procedures.
The contact details for the Correspondence Unit of the AGO are:
Attorney General's Office
Correspondence Unit
20 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0NF
020 7271 2492
