Report – Police Scotland – PIRC/00016/21
The Complaints
The complaints in this case arose from the manner in which officers from Police Scotland interacted with the applicant during their investigation of an incident which was reported against him, and an incident which the applicant reported.
We have reviewed the handling of eight complaints, namely that:
[Named police division] suppressed the applicant’s efforts to report a crime and failed to act when informed of the circumstances;
On 25 November 2018, a police sergeant failed to advise the applicant of his potential status as a suspect which meant the applicant was not offered his rights as a suspect or cautioned at common law;
On 26 November 2018, a police inspector failed to afford the applicant his rights as a suspect/accused person;
The allocation of the applicant’s enquiry to a named police sergeant constituted a conflict of interest;
The same police sergeant attended at the applicant’s home address and asked him questions, while the applicant was deemed to be an accused person, which was irregular;
The same police sergeant failed to contact the applicant or provide him with an update regarding the progress of the enquiry;
Police Scotland failed to provide the applicant with an update regarding the progress of his report , despite the applicant contacting Police Scotland to raise an incident again on 26 April 2019; and
A police inspector failed to overrule a police sergeant’s decision not to raise a crime report, despite recognising wrong-doing.
Police Scotland’s Decision
Police Scotland upheld complaints 2, 6 and 7, but did not uphold complaints 1, 3, 4, 5, and 8.
Our Findings
We have found that Police Scotland handled all of the applicant’s complaints to a reasonable standard. No further action is required by Police Scotland.
Police Bodies : Police Scotland