Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

The complaints in this case arose after the applicant’s brother (Mr A) reported the death of his partner to the police.   Mr A was taken to a police station for a period of time and then provided with temporary accommodation. We have reviewed the handling of three complaints, namely that:

1. Mr A had his shoes and clothes taken and was not provided with replacements or allowed to have property taken from his house;
2. Police Scotland failed to notify Mr A’s next of kin of his whereabouts or pass on contact details when requested to do so by family members.
3. Mr A was left in accommodation with no access to food and water. 

Police Scotland’s Decision

Police Scotland did not uphold any of the applicant’s complaints.  

Our Findings

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

Consequently, we have made three recommendations to address the shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaints.  In summary, we have asked Police Scotland to conduct further necessary  and proportionate  and thereafter provide the applicant with a further response.

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

Outcome

Police Scotland implemented all three recommendations in this case. In doing so, further necessary and proportionate enquiries were carried out into the complaints, which were then reassessed and a further response provided to the applicant. While the complaints remained not upheld, the applicant was provided with a detailed rationale for this determination in relation to each complaint.

Police Bodies : Police Scotland