There has been an increase in the number of allegations of police officers in Leicestershire using excessive force.

But the overall number of complaints has fallen.

On average, two people a week made allegations of assault against a police officer from the Leicestershire force in the year from the 1 April, 2002 to 31 March, 2003.

That is an increase of about 16% on the previous year.

However, allegations of oppressive conduct, unlawful arrest, irregularity in procedure, and neglect have all fallen.

That equates to an overall reduction of 11%.

Of the 278 complaints in total, 98 have been resolved internally.

Another 38 were withdrawn by the complainant, and the remainder have been referred to the police authority for further investigation.