Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

The complaints in this case arose following a road traffic collision. We have reviewed the handling of three complaints, namely that:

1. Police Scotland failed to complete a full comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the road traffic collision; 
2. Police Scotland failed to ensure that an updated report of the circumstances was provided to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), which had a negative impact on the subsequent court case; and 
3. Police Scotland failed to provide reassurance that the applicant’s concerns were being treated seriously and in a professional manner, with the enquiry updates being unreliable and inconsistent. 
    

Police Scotland’s Decision

Police Scotland did not make a determination on 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 a recommendation to address the shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of all three complaints. In summary, we recommend that Police Scotland conduct further enquiries into the complaints. Thereafter, Police Scotland should provide the applicant with a further response.

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

Outcome

Police Scotland implemented all recommendations made in this report. In doing so, extensive further enquiries were carried out into the applicant’s complaints, all of which were reassessed and the applicant was provided with a detailed further response. While two of the complaints remained not upheld, one complaint was upheld and the response provided the applicant with sufficient information to understand the extent of the enquiry carried out, the assessment of the information obtained during that enquiry, and the rationale for the determination reached in relation to each complaint.

Police Bodies : Police Scotland