Posted: Wednesday 28 October 2009
Public awareness of PCCS leads to more enquiries and more reviews
- 15% increase in enquiries from public
- 25% increase in recommendations made to police
- 112 applications accepted for review
- 288 individual heads of complaints examined
The Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland (PCCS) published his second Annual Report today (28 October 2009). The 2008/09 report takes as its theme the broad scope of the Commissioner's influence into how complaints from the public are handled by the police now and in the future.
From detention in custody to vehicle seizures and from gun licensing to speed cameras, the report includes details of individual complaints reviewed by PCCS, alongside the findings of full-scale audits carried out at one police organisation and the PCCS-led review by the police of their complaint handling procedures.
During 2008/09 the PCCS received 375 new enquiries from the public, an increase of 15 per cent and accepted 112 applications for review. During the period, the organisation completed 61 independent complaint handling reviews, compared to 38 the previous year.
The PCCS welcomed the increase in enquiries saying that it reflected a higher recognition among members of the public of their rights in this area and an increasing awareness of the Commissioner and his role in Scotland.
As well as statistics on new complaints accepted (112), reviewed (61), heads of complaint upheld or referred back to police for action (80), not upheld (144), the report uses real cases from its files to show how the PCCS deals with issues that touch on all areas of modern day policing in Scotland and how its work contributes to the attainment of the Scottish Government's strategic aims of a safer, stronger, fairer Scotland.
The case studies in the latest report include a complaint about senior officer from Northern Constabulary; an instance of good practice in complaints handling at Lothian and Borders; criticism of Strathclyde Police for treating a complainer badly over a number of years and the report into an complaint about Tayside Police relating to a its Vehicle Recovery Scheme.
The Act under which the PCCS was established means that, as well as undertaking detailed, independent reviews of individual complaints, the Commissioner's has a number of objectives set by Scottish Ministers to ensure that police organisations in Scotland have appropriate procedures in place to handle complaints and that these procedures are followed effectively. The Commissioner used his powers to instigate an audit of the complaints assessment and recording procedures within Northern Constabulary that highlighted a number of weaknesses in the system.
The PCCS acknowledges that there is still work to be done to educate the public especially around when they should bring their complaint to the PCCS and what they can expect when PCCS reviews how their complaint was handled. The results of a survey commissioned by PCCS amongst people who have used the PCCS service will be used to inform its Corporate Plan 2010 when it is published in the New Year.
The PCCS is also responsible for publishing the annual summary of statistics showing the number and nature of all complaints received by police organisations in Scotland. This annual statistical return will be published in the final quarter of 2009.
The PCCS Annual Report 2008/09 is available for download in PDF version by clicking here.