Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaint

The complaint in this case arose after the applicant was stopped by police officers whilst he was driving a quad bike and subsequently charged with road traffic offences.

We have reviewed the handling of a single complaint, namely that:

• On 12 July 2020, officers forced the applicant onto what the officers called the pavement without the use of ‘blue lights or sirens’. 

Police Scotland’s Decision

Police Scotland did not uphold 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 shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaint. In summary, we recommend that Police Scotland re-assess the complaint and provide the applicant with a further letter of response explaining the rationale for the determination reached.

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, they carried out necessary and proportionate enquiries and a further response was thereafter provided to the applicant. This further response accurately reflected the information available and provided a clear explanation as to how this information was used in applying the balance of probability test to reach the complaint determination.

Police Bodies : Police Scotland