Posted: Monday 30 November 2009
Police Complaints Commissioner publishes latest complaint reviews
I acknowledge and share good practice where I find it, but I also hold the police to account where necessary. Only if we have the assurance that robust procedures exist for dealing with complaints and that they are being applied consistently across Scotland, can public confidence in the police be maintained.
John McNeill, the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland, today (Monday 30 November) publishes the results of his review into ten complaints, involving six out the eight police forces in Scotland.
Reports by the Commissioner, known as complaint handling reviews, not only look at the specifics of a case but also bring out learning points that can be used across all of Scotland's police to drive up standards and root out poor practice.
The latest reviews, which involved 34 individual heads of complaint, have highlighted a number of areas where the police either did not follow their own complaints procedures correctly or their complaints investigations were found to be lacking in focus and rigour.
The Commissioner has now asked Central Police to apologise to a member of the public for losing evidence relating to his case and for the quality of a letter sent to him apparently in response to some of his complaints.
He also found that while Northern Constabulary had dealt reasonably with four complaints arising from an alleged assault, it had not handled reasonably three other complaints. As part of the same review, he identified a further four complaints, including one about how officers had reacted to alleged threats made to the complainer, that had not been considered by Northern Constabulary. The Commissioner described the police's handling of several of the complaints as "unfocused and lacking rigour and depth".
John McNeill, Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland said:
"At the end of my first three months in office, I have been encouraged to see clear evidence the police are acting on my recommendations and responding positively to the constructive challenges I make. I believe that ultimately we share an agenda and a desire to provide assurance to the public and Scottish Ministers that checks and balances exist within the system to ensure that, if you have a legitimate complaint about the police, it will be looked at fully and fairly."
"My reviews necessarily look at those times when the system doesn't work and people feel let down but, what we should also acknowledge is the fact that in many of the cases that I review, the police investigate complaints about themselves thoroughly and well."
" The learning points for the police in my reviews may arise from a single incident but by publicising them through these reviews all eight police bodies can learn from each other and together we can accelerate the positive changes we need to make and drive up standards. "
Since his appointment in August this year, John McNeill has been vocal in his view that public confidence in the police is directly linked to how they handle and respond to complaints and only by responding positively to complaints brought to them will they retain public confidence.