Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

The complaint in this case arose from Police Scotland’s investigation into a theft reported by the applicant. We have reviewed the handling of one complaint, namely that:

Police Scotland failed to submit reports to the Procurator Fiscal having charged people with theft.  

Police Scotland’s Decision

Police Scotland provided no determination in relation to the applicant’s complaint.

Our Findings

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

Consequently, we have made a recommendation to address the shortcoming in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaint. In summary, we recommend that Police Scotland provide the applicant with a detailed further response.

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

Outcome

Police Scotland implemented the recommendation made in this case. In doing so, the complaint was reassessed and a further response provided to the applicant in which the complaint is now upheld, failings have been identified and an apology has been provided to the applicant. Police Scotland have also identified organisational learning to prevent the same circumstances from happening again. It has also been acknowledged that, as this may take time to implement at a national level, steps should be taken at a local level to ensure staff in local Crime Management departments are aware of the issue and actively seeking to address it while a solution is sought at a national level.

Police Bodies : Police Scotland