Posted: Tuesday 22 December 2009
Public accessibility to police complaints handling "essentially sound"
Speaking following the publication of the report, John McNeill said:
I am pleased by the positive response of the police to my recommendations. Like me, they see that this research presents an opportunity to take a pro-active stance that demonstrates that complaints do make a difference, that they are taken seriously and that there is no need for anyone to be concerned about the consequences of making a complaint about the police.
A report published today (23 December) by John McNeill, the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland (PCCS), gives Scotland's eight police forces' an assurance level of "substantial". The rating is in relation to the visibility and accessibility of their complaints handling process to anyone who may have a concern about a policing matter.
The overall rating of "substantial", the second highest rating available, means that the forces are taking an essentially sound approach, but that there are weaknesses that put some objectives at risk.
The assessment conducted by PCCS during August and September this year, looked at the five key areas of accessibility, processes, contacts, links and feedback of police websites. The report highlights a number of "ineffective practices and risks" in the way that forces present information on how to make a complaint and the process they follow when a complaint is made about them.
In the second part of the report, broader research into the views and awareness of the complaints process amongst complainers and potential complainers reveals that one of the main barriers to making a complaint is that people don't know how to. To counter this, the Commissioner has made a recommendation for all police forces to include written notification of the role of PCCS to anyone who raises a complaint about the police, along with a copy of the Scottish Government's "Complaints about the Police" leaflet.
As a result, the Commissioner has called on the forces and ACPOS to work together as a priority to identify a consistent approach across these areas. At the same time, individual forces have agreed to make a number of specific improvements to their own websites by June 2010.
Notes
1. The website assessment was carried out as a desktop exercise during August - September 2009 and looked at:
- functionality and accessibility
- process details and explanation
- contact options
- links to other relevant sources
- satisfaction and feedback
2. The externally commissioned research on accessibility and awareness involved 115 interviews carried out between August and November 2009
3. Scotland's Police Complaints Commissioner provides independent scrutiny of the way the police handle non-criminal complaints from the public and presenting a national overview of standards and consistency in complaint handling by all police organisations in Scotland.
4. The Commissioner's powers are set out in the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006, giving him the power to secure that suitable arrangements are maintained (and adhered to) for the handling of relevant complaints within Scottish police bodies. He must ensure that the arrangements are effective, efficient and contain an appropriate degree of independence and can make recommendations and give advice on their modification and practice.