Posted: Monday 29 November 2010
Commissioner opens consultation on police complaints to the public
Professor John McNeill, the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland is taking his modernising agenda to the public this week, when he opens a public consultation on the way that the police handle complaints from the public.
The consultation questionnaire seek views on draft statutory guidance on police complaints handling, including the time it takes the police to respond to complaints, the opportunity for frontline resolution by the police before a formal complaint is made, as well as how complaints about chief officers should be handled.
The statutory guidance will apply to al "relevant authorities" that fall within the Commissioner's oversight remit. This includes the eight Scottish police forces and their respective police boards, as well as UK-wide bodies operating in Scotland such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency and UK Border Agency.
The Commissioner told this group at a briefing in Hamilton last week that the guidance has the potential to impact on all Scottish police officers and staff. The six-stage process outlined in the consultation document, if adopted, will strengthen the accountability and integrity of the police complaint handling system.
Within the new process, the focus is on resolving complaints quickly at a local level, with proportionate effort and better communication with complainers. The guidance also looks at how specialist investigations, including those involving criminal allegations, should be conducted.
He said: "I want to see the police in Scotland become more effective in dealing with complaints. The guiding principles of the six stage process present a real opportunity to make a positive shift towards learning and improvement rather than blame."
The consultation runs for eight weeks until Tuesday 11 January 2011. Responses will feed into the new Statutory Guidance on complaint handling that will be published by the Commissioner early next year.
The draft guidance and consultation questionnaire are available on the PCCS website www.pcc-scotland.org.