IOPC Youth Panel Manifesto 2030 Manifesto for Change
On 22 October 2025, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (“IOPC”) published the Youth Panel 2030 Manifesto for Change (“Manifesto”).
Details
The Manifesto was written by panel members (42 young people aged 16 to 25 from a diverse range of communities across England and Wales) involving national research and consultation with various stakeholders. The Manifesto sets out ten key recommendations to be implemented by 2030 with the goal of improving young people’s trust and confidence in policing and the police complaints system.
- Increase police services’ proactive community engagement. Police services should work with a youth group to organise neighbourhood events to increase positive and non-punitive interactions with the police. The aim is that by 2030 all police services should have a youth commission, scrutiny or advisory group in place to improve connections and address systemic issues.
- Include the right to complain in most police interactions. Research shows that young people are the least likely demographic group to complain about police treatment. Police should raise awareness of the complaints system, and complaints should be viewed as assets to highlight gaps in training or personal prejudices. The right to complain should be included in the rights read out to individuals detained in custody.
- Train police in trauma-informed approaches, neurodiversity and mental health. By 2030 all frontline police officers should receive training in these areas to aid de-escalation, reduce police-related trauma and improve engagement with police and young people.
- Mandatory wearing of body worn video. These videos are crucial for accountability and protecting the police and the public. Whilst this is already the norm in some policing regions, national mandated use would ensure that adequate resources are provided across England and Wales.
- Refer all complaints involving young people and vulnerable adult’s cases to the IOPC. Widening the scope will allow the IOPC to have oversight in respect of all cases concerning children and vulnerable adults and not just the most serious and sensitive cases. Involving IOPC should empower young people to engage with the complaints system.
- Better engagement with education sectors on IOPC and the complaints system. From primary age to university, students should receive sessions on how to make a complaint about the police. The educational campaign must be broad enough to reach those not in traditional education.
- An advocacy service to support young people making a complaint. Many young people want the support of a trusted adult when making a complaint and vulnerable people need extra support navigating the system. Further, often the police have legal support, but complainants do not, this power imbalance needs to be addressed.
- Introduction of a community complaints system. A community complaints system would better represent systemic issues faced at a grassroots level. It would allow for immediate changes on a regional basis and, in turn, improve police-community relationships in the long term.
- Making investigations victim-centred and including a complainant impact statement. Complainants need a stronger voice in IOPC investigations. A complainant impact statement (outlining the impact on the individual and/or their family) should be included in complaints cases to ensure that any later recommendations made address the impact on the victim.
- The complaints system needs to be more accessible for children and young people. The panel believes that this would be best achieved by an online dashboard system that includes guidance on the complaints process and a way to track the progress of a complaint. This should increase confidence in the process and ensure all complainants receive due process.
Commentary
This manifesto clearly aims to improve children and young people’s interactions with the police. If the recommendations are followed through, they have the potential to reduce the number of children who are unnecessarily criminalised.
The Manifesto will be particularly useful to professionals helping children and young people navigate the police complaints system. Professionals should also find YJLC’s factsheet explaining how to make a complaint against the police helpful in this regard.