Report – Police Scotland – PIRC/00350/22
The Complaints
The complaints in this case arose after the applicant was reported on various occasions to police by his ex-partner. We have reviewed the handling of eight complaints, namely that:
- Police Scotland repeatedly colluded with the applicant’s ex-partner by allowing her to make false allegations against him, which has resulted in him being falsely charged on numerous occasions;
- Police Scotland failed to carry out full and thorough investigations when the applicant’s ex-partner made reports about his behaviour;
- Police Scotland carried out insufficient enquiry into allegations made by the applicant’s ex-partner, specifically failing to look at CCTV;
- Police Scotland failed to act on concerns that the applicant raised regarding his child having contact with a known drug user;
- Police Scotland informed the applicant’s ex-partner that he had commenced a civil action against her;
- Police Scotland carried out insufficient enquiries into an incident at the applicant’s child’s school on 11 November 2017, following which he was arrested;
- Following a report regarding the applicant chasing his ex-partner around a town gala and local streets in 2019, Police Scotland did not carry out any enquiry; and
- On 13 January 2022, the applicant was falsely arrested for breach of bail, despite not being subject to any bail conditions.
Police Scotland’s Decision
Police Scotland did not uphold any of the applicant’s complaints.
Our Findings
We have found that Police Scotland handled six of the applicant’s complaints to a reasonable standard but not so complaints three and five. We have made three recommendations to address the shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaints.
Our recommendations should be implemented by Police Scotland within two months of the date of this report.
Outcome
Police Scotland implemented all recommendations in this case. In doing so, they carried out further enquiries, including obtaining additional statements from officers, and provided the applicant with a further response which was detailed and well reasoned.
Police Bodies : Police Scotland