Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaint

The complaint in this case followed another individual being named as next of kin on the report submitted by Police Scotland to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service after the sudden death of the applicant’s father. Police Scotland established that two people, one of whom being the applicant, had been named as her father’s next of kin in different sections of his death report. We have reviewed the handling of the following complaint: 

1. the applicant was not recorded as the next of kin on a Police Report and information relating to her father was disclosed to another party.

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 shortcoming in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaint. In summary, we recommend that Police Scotland carry out any necessary further enquiries and re-assess the complaint. Thereafter, the applicant should be provided with a well-reasoned response to her complaint.

Police Bodies: Police Scotland