Report - Strathclyde Police
- Reference:
- PCCS/00508/PF-SP
- Police Body:
- Strathclyde Police
- Date:
- 24 April 2010
- Download:
- Download Report - Strathclyde Police
The six complaints reviewed in these reports relate to complaints made to Strathclyde Police by the applicant and his mother between March and May 2008. The complaints were as a result of contact the applicant had with Strathclyde Police over a period of around four and a half years. Given the nature of the complaints, Strathclyde Police conducted two separate investigations and wrote separately on each to the applicant. Both have been reviewed here separately under one cover.
Of the six complaints reviewed, the Commissioner has decided that one (Complaint 1) was not handled in a reasonable manner and that consequently further action is required by Strathclyde Police. The Commissioner has recommended that Strathclyde Police provides the applicant with sufficient reasons to properly inform him why no misconduct proceedings were taken against the officers subject to complaint.
As a learning point, the Commissioner would remind police bodies that officers should, in line with ACPOS guidance in the Manual, record in their notebooks their reasons for deciding to handcuff suspects. As the Manual recognises, the use of handcuffs amounts to the use of physical force and requires to be justified in each case. The recording of the reasons for taking such action assists in achieving this objective.
The Commissioner also wishes to see, within the reports of officers who investigate complaints about handcuffing, explicit reference to Use of Force reports, where these exist. Such reports detail occasions when force is used during police operations and include narrative regarding its effectiveness or otherwise.
In the Commissioner's view, adherence to these practices will have a significant impact upon the ability of police forces to respond convincingly to complaints arising from the use of handcuffs.