{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/uk-border-agency-complaints-and-misconduct-regulations-2010/regulation-8",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/uk-border-agency-complaints-and-misconduct-regulations-2010/regulation-8.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2010/782",
  "legislation_title": "The UK Border Agency (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2010",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/uk-border-agency-complaints-and-misconduct-regulations-2010",
  "path": "regulation/8",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "8",
  "heading": "Complaints, matters and persons to which these Regulations apply",
  "text": "(1) In these Regulations references to a complaint are references (subject to the following provisions of this regulation) to any complaint about the conduct of a relevant officer, relevant official of the Secretary of State, relevant contractor, official exercising customs revenue functions or customs revenue contractor which is made (whether in writing or otherwise) by—\n(a) a member of the public who claims to be the person in relation to whom the conduct took place;\n(b) a member of the public not falling within sub-paragraph (a) who claims to have been adversely affected by the conduct;\n(c) a member of the public who claims to have witnessed the conduct;\n(d) a person acting on behalf of a person falling within any of sub-paragraphs (a) to (c).\n(2) In these Regulations “conduct matter” means (subject to the following provisions of this regulation and regulation 13(2) (initial handling and recording of complaints)) any matter which is not and has not been the subject of a complaint but in the case of which there is an indication (whether from the circumstances or otherwise) that a relevant officer, relevant official of the Secretary of State, relevant contractor, official exercising customs revenue functions or customs revenue contractor may have—\n(a) committed a criminal offence; or\n(b) behaved in a manner which would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.\n(3) In these Regulations “DSI matter” means any circumstances (other than those which are or have been the subject of a complaint or which amount to a conduct matter)—\n(a) in or in consequence of which a person has died or has sustained serious injury; and\n(b) in relation to which the requirements of either paragraph (4) or (5) are satisfied.\n(4) The requirements of this paragraph are that at the time of the death or serious injury the person—\n(a) had been arrested by a relevant officer, relevant official of the Secretary of State, relevant contractor, official exercising customs revenue functions or customs revenue contractor and had not been released from that arrest; or\n(b) was otherwise detained in the custody of a relevant officer, relevant official of the Secretary of State, relevant contractor, official exercising customs revenue functions or customs revenue contractor.\n(5) The requirements of this paragraph are that—\n(a) at or before the time of the death or serious injury the person had contact (of whatever kind, and whether direct or indirect) with a relevant officer, relevant official of the Secretary of State, relevant contractor, official exercising customs revenue functions or customs revenue contractor; and\n(b) there is an indication that the contact may have caused (whether directly or indirectly) or contributed to the death or serious injury.\n(6) The complaints that are complaints for the purposes of these Regulations by virtue of paragraph (1)(b) do not, except in a case falling within paragraph (8), include any made by or on behalf of a person who claims to have been adversely affected as a consequence only of having seen or heard the conduct, or any of the alleged effects of the conduct.\n(7) A case falls within this paragraph if—\n(a) it was only because the person in question was physically present, or sufficiently nearby, when the conduct took place or the effects occurred that the person was able to see or hear the conduct or its effects; or\n(b) the adverse effect is attributable to, or was aggravated by, the fact that the person in relation to whom the conduct took place was already known to the person claiming to have suffered the adverse effect.\n(8) For the purposes of this regulation a person shall be taken to have witnessed conduct if, and only if—\n(a) the person’s knowledge of that conduct was acquired in a manner which would make that person a competent witness capable of giving admissible evidence of that conduct in criminal proceedings; or\n(b) the person had possession or control of anything which would in any such proceedings constitute admissible evidence of that conduct.\n(9) For the purposes of these Regulations a person falling within paragraph 1(a) to (c) shall not be taken to have authorised another person to act on that person’s behalf unless—\n(a) the person so acting is for the time being designated for the purposes of this regulation by the Director General as a person through whom complaints may be made, or is of a description of persons so designated; or\n(b) the person so acting has been given, and is able to produce, the written consent of the person on whose behalf the person is taking action.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in Regulations substituted (8.1.2018) by The Independent Office for Police Conduct (Transitional and Consequential) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/1250), regs. 1, 17(2)(c) (with regs. 17(3), 37)"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "Reg. 8 in force at 7.4.2010, see reg. 1(1)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/782/regulation/8",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-31T10:33:35.562823+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}