Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

The complaint in this case arose from the circumstances of the applicant’s arrest. We have reviewed the handling of a single complaint, namely that:

• The timing of the applicant’s arrest was intended to cause “as much collateral damage” to him as possible at work.

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 recommend that Police Scotland conduct further enquiry and provide the applicant with a further response.

We have also made a learning point about the administration of the complaint. 

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

Outcome

Police Scotland implemented both the recommendation and learning point made in this case. In doing so, further enquiries were carried out to address the observations made in our report, and a well-reasoned further response was sent to the applicant. While the complaint remained not upheld, the learning point was disseminated and acknowledged appropriately.

Police Bodies: Police Scotland