Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

The complaints in this case arose following an incident involving the applicant and a visitor to his neighbour’s property, which culminated in the applicant being issued with a Recorded Police Warning. 

We have reviewed the handling of one complaint, namely that: 

1. Police Scotland did not undertake a proper investigation before issuing the applicant with a Recorded Police Warning. In particular, the applicant and his wife were not asked to provide their version of events prior to the Recorded Police Warning being issued.

Police Scotland's Decision

Police Scotland did not uphold the applicant’s complaint.

Our Findings

We have found that Police Scotland did not handle the applicant’s complaint to a reasonable standard. 

Consequently, we have made a recommendation and identified a learning point to address the shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaint. In summary, we have recommended that Police Scotland reassess the complaint and provide the applicant with a fresh adequately reasoned response. Our learning point is a reminder that, when there is sufficient information available to adequately respond to a complaint and come to a determination on a complaint, the determination should be communicated in the complaint response letter.

Our recommendation and learning point should be implemented by Police Scotland within two months of the date of this report.

Policing Bodies: Police Scotland