Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

The complaint in this case arose after officers attended an incident and arrested the applicant. We have reviewed the handling of five complaints, namely that: 

1. an officer accused the applicant of lying about his date of birth, despite being shown his driver’s licence;

2. officers left the applicant's property insecure by failing to lock the door;

3. officers wrongfully arrested the applicant because they believed he was subject of a warrant;

4. officers carried out insufficient checks in relation to identifying who was subject of the warrant; and

5. an officer laughed when he informed the applicant that he had missed the court bus and would be held in custody until the next morning.

Police Scotland's Decision

Police Scotland upheld complaints 3 and 4, but did not uphold complaints 1, 2 and 5. 

Our Findings

We have found that Police Scotland handled complaints 2, 3, 4 and 5 to a reasonable standard but not so complaint 1. 

We have not made a recommendation in relation to complaint 1.

However, we have made a recommendation in relation to complaint 3. In summary, we have recommended that Police Scotland conducts additional enquiries and provides the applicant with a further update on his concerns about the relevant matter.

Police Bodies: Police Scotland