Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaint  

The complaints in this case arose after the applicant reported various incidents about her neighbour to Police Scotland.

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

1. An officer made an unprofessional comment during a conversation with applicant’s daughter;
2. Police Scotland took insufficient action in relation to incidents that the applicant has reported involving her neighbours; and
3. In 2021, officers did not arrest the applicant’s neighbour after she reported vandalism to her property. 

Police Scotland’s Decision

Police Scotland did not uphold 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.

We have made two recommendations to address the shortcomings we have identified in Police Scotland’s handling of complaints 1 and 2. In summary, we recommend that Police Scotland conduct further enquiry into the complaints. A further letter of response should be sent to the applicant, explaining the outcome of the additional enquiry undertaken.

We have also identified three learning points relative to Police Scotland’s administration of the complaint.

Police Scotland should implement our recommendations and learning points within two months of the date of this report.

Outcome

Police Scotland implemented both recommendations made in this case. In relation to complaint one, further enquiries were carried out in line with the recommendation, which resulted in the complaint being upheld and learning identified for the subject officer. In relation to complaint 2, further enquiry was carried out in line with the recommendations and a further response provided to the applicant. The further response contained a clear explanation and rationale for why the complaint would remain not upheld. The CHR also identified three learning points, all of which were accepted and disseminated by PSD.

Police Bodies : Police Scotland