Posted: Monday 15 November 2010
Commissioner sends complaints back to force to re-examine
Seven out of the 11 complaint reviews published today (Monday 15 November) by the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland are to be returned to the forces concerned for further work on some aspects of their response.
Following an independent review of the forces' own handling of complaints, Professor John McNeill's recommendations range from a call for Strathclyde Police to apologise to a member of the public for the role that one of its officers played in a road traffic collision, to a criticism of Northern Constabulary for a less than convincing investigation into an allegation of bias against one of its officers.
The Commissioner goes on to highlight a number of other procedural failings, including British Transport Police not recording a complaint about its officers parking on double yellow lines. Tayside Police were found to have breached its own Standard operating Procedures in relation to the issuing of medication to prisoners.
Speaking about the latest reviews he said:
While it is disappointing to have to send complaints back to the force for further work, it is important to acknowledge that within any individual case, I can be reviewing multiple complaints, the majority of which the police may have handled reasonably.