Posted: Thursday 20 May 2010
Commissioner praises parents for helping change how police respond to road traffic incidents in rural areas
Since 2003 the parents of a cyclist killed in a road traffic incident have criticised Strathclyde Police about its handling of the incident and its aftermath. They asked the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland to review how Strathclyde Police handled their complaints and his report was published this month (May 2010).
Their complaints had been reviewed by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS), the organisation responsible for reviewing how complaints were handled before the PCCS was established.
In the PCCS report the Commissioner, John McNeill, recognises that as a direct result of their complaints, Strathclyde Police has initiated training for all officers in rural areas. The training is to ensure that attending officers at incidents in outlying areas are aware of the demands placed upon them in such circumstances. He goes on to recognise that “the potential benefits of this cannot be underestimated” and recommends that this training is a continuous process.
Although Strathclyde Police has accepted individual failings in how the incident was handled, the Commissioner’s report argues that, given the lack of guidance available to attending officers at the relevant time, these failings could also be regarded as “organisational” and not confined to any individual officer.
John McNeill said; “I hope that my review will answer some of the questions which the parents have over the initial incident and the manner in which Strathclyde Police investigated their complaints. I also hope that they will see that they have brought about real and positive changes in how the police now handle this type of incident.”
The Commissioner singles out this case as a prime example of the problems that can arise when complaints about the police are dealt with through the perspective of “misconduct”.
The only way to make real progress and increase pubic confidence in the police is when we reach a situation where the police complaints handling system is one that reflects a learning culture rather than a blame one. This is an area that ACPOS and the Scottish Government are looking at through the Police Advisory Board for Scotland’s Technical Working Group. I have made my views known to them and intend to continue to be pro-active on this subject.
John McNeill, Police Complaints Commisioner for Scotland