Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

The complaint in this case arose after the applicant reported an alleged assault to the police.

We have reviewed the handling of a single complaint, namely that:

• Officers told the applicant that they would not interview a suspect as they knew what she would say, and there would be no point. 
   

Police Scotland’s Decision

Police Scotland did not uphold the applicant’s complaint.

Our Findings

We have found that Police Scotland handled the applicant’s complaint to a reasonable standard.

Nonetheless, we have identified a learning point to address a shortcoming in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaint. In summary, we have advised Police Scotland to ensure that subject officers submit their own, independent statements to the complaint enquiry.

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

Outcome

Police Scotland implemented the learning point established in this case. We advised that independent accounts should be sought from subject officers throughout the complaint enquiry. In this case, one statement had been counted as two, by separate officers. This learning point was circulated to complaint handers within PSD.

Police Bodies : Police Scotland