Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

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

1.    Police Scotland failed to carry out sufficient enquiry into the events reported; and
2.    a police officer attempted to dissuade the applicant from making a report about the incident.

Police Scotland's Decision

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

Our Findings

We have found that Police Scotland did not handle either of the applicant’s complaints 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 both 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 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, the complaints were recorded as separate complaints about the police, further enquiries were carried out, the complaints were reassessed in light of the observations made in our report, and a well-reasoned further response was sent to the applicant. While one complaint remained not upheld, the other was upheld and appropriate learning was identified for the officers subject of the complaint. The learning point was also disseminated and acknowledged appropriately.

Police Bodies: Police Scotland