Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

The complaint in this case arose following a road traffic collision involving a vehicle driven by the applicant’s son.

We have reviewed the handling of 11 complaints, namely that: 

1.  on 29 November 2021, an officer showed no concern for the safety of the applicant’s son;

2.  on the same date, officers failed to carry out a breath test on the applicant’s son fairly and with respect;
3. on the same date, officers did not note a statement from the applicant’s son
4. on the same date, an officer was unhelpful and failed to provide an explanation why a statement was not taken;
5. on 30 November 2021, an officer was uncivil to the applicant and her son during a telephone call and showed no concern for the welfare of the applicant’s son;
6.  an officer failed to be open minded about an investigation and failed to empathise with the applicant’s concerns;
7. the report to the Procurator Fiscal, which came with the copy complaint received by the applicant’s son, provides that officers carried out a notice of intended prosecution after the applicant’s son had completed a breath test, which was untrue;
8.  the police report submitted to Procurator Fiscal was one sided and inaccurate;
9.  the applicant is dissatisfied with the time taken by Police Scotland to carry out the complaint investigation;
10. an officer did not respond to the applicant’s emails; and

11. a further complaint form and enquiry form submitted by the applicant to Police Scotland were ignored.

Police Scotland's Decision

Police Scotland upheld complaints 8 and 9 but did not uphold complaints 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 and did not provide a determination on complaints 4, 10 and 11. 

Our Findings

We have found that Police Scotland handled complaints 1, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 of the applicant’s complaints to a reasonable standard but not so complaints 2,4,7,10 and 11. 

We have made five recommendation to address the shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaints. 

Specifically, we have recommended that Police Scotland records complaints 4, 10 and 11 as separate complaints, conducts further necessary and proportionate enquiries and, thereafter, provides the applicant with a well-reasoned further response to the complaints

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

Outcome

Police Scotland implemented the recommendations in this case. In doing so, they conducted further enquiries, re-assessed the available information and provided the applicant with a fresh response which was well-reasoned. Consequently, complaints 10 and 11 of the applicant’s complaints were upheld. 

Police Bodies: Police Scotland