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Scotland’s policing commissioner says a record level of demand is now risking her ability to help deliver justice on behalf of communities. 

Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, Laura Paton, has revealed that it is taking longer to complete investigations due to an increasing and complex caseload. This includes high-level investigations where someone has died in police custody or following contact with officers.

And the organisation is braced for a rise in members of the public seeking assistance from PIRC as Police Scotland works its way through a significant backlog of police complaints. 

Meanwhile, PIRC’s legal duties are set to be expanded under new legislation.

The organisation has carried out a strategic review to assess demand against resource while setting a new future direction - but Ms Paton insists wider action is now needed. 

Following the launch of her latest annual report, the Commissioner said: “We are experiencing a sustained increase in demand that exceeds our available resources and is beyond our control. 

“We will take all reasonable steps to work efficiently, prioritise serious investigations, and maintain the quality of those investigations, however there is a limit to what we alone can achieve. 

“In the absence of external intervention - such as a reduction in demand, additional funding or the delayed expansion of our statutory functions - a further deterioration in the timeliness of our investigations is inevitable. 

“This means that we will not be able to deliver the service that the public rightly expects; this will affect bereaved families and complainers, as well as confidence in police accountability and policing itself.”

Latest figures show that PIRC is currently managing 191 investigations, including 49 deaths. This year PIRC has experienced its highest ever number of simultaneous death investigations.

PIRC’s annual report covers the earlier period of the 12 months leading up to 31 March this year, during which PIRC initiated 41 death investigations (a 128% increase from 18 in 2024-25) - including seven investigations into domestic abuse related homicides and suicides. 

PIRC is also tasked with investigating wider matters, for example, allegations of police criminality or misconduct by senior policing officers as well as the police use of firearms.

Investigations can be directed by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) or can result from referrals from a policing body or from the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). The Commissioner can also choose to investigate police matters which she considers are in the public interest.

Between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, PIRC received 745 referrals and took forward 185 to full investigation – 10 (5%) at its own discretion with the remaining 175 (95%) instructed by COPFS. This means that COPFS is now instructing a greater proportion of PIRC’s investigations, limiting PIRC’s capacity for discretionary work.

PIRC exceeded its strategic objective to complete 80% of its category A investigations within 90 days but this has reduced from 100% in 2024-25 to 83% in 2025-26; the objective of completing 80% of category B and C investigations within 120 days also fell to 71%. 

Meanwhile, PIRC continues to meet targets for handling complaints from the public about the police.

This is despite a 29% rise from the previous reporting period of applications for a complaint handling review (CHR) - involving the assessment of 965 individual allegations. 

PIRC’s reviewers assessed 98% of CHRs within five working days, exceeding their target of 90%; and they concluded 99% of CHR applications within 90 working days, exceeding their 80% target. 

But Ms Paton reveals in her report that PIRC is nonetheless taking steps to manage an expected increase in demand as Police Scotland works its way through its complaints backlog. 

PIRC has developed a Complaint Handling Assessment and Reporting Toolkit (CHART) and will engage with policing bodies and stakeholders ahead of its roll out in early 2027. 

She said: “Police Scotland’s complaint handling performance is of considerable concern. Not only are members of the public waiting too long but the number of those who remain dissatisfied with the response and apply to PIRC for a review has increased. 

“We have also noted delays in Police Scotland’s implementation of the recommendations arising from our reviews. This concerning trend is being closely monitored.”

PIRC is also now preparing for the extension of its powers and duties under the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025.

Ms Paton said: “We are committed to strengthening independent investigation and oversight of complaints. Some provisions of the Act have been commenced, and others will be commenced over the coming months, however taking on new work when current demand already exceeds our capacity is challenging.

“We are therefore engaging in constructive discussions with the Scottish Government to explore how we achieve a corresponding increase in resourcing to support these additional functions.” 

Across the reporting period, PIRC also carried out a strategic review which has now been completed and sets a new strategic direction for 2026-29.

It also welcomed a new Statutory Advisory Board which will play a similar role to the non-statutory Audit and Accountability Committee (AAC) for PIRC which met for the last time in February 2026. 

PIRC has also continued to invest in staff training while launching a new online recruitment portal to improve the experience of those applying to work with PIRC and to streamline recruitment activity. 

Also in 2025-26, PIRC achieved a Bronze Award from the then Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion for embedding the key building blocks for service users, staff and partners to feel welcomed, listened to and respected.

Ms Paton said: “We have considered how we can maintain a service that contributes to Scotland’s national outcomes and delivers person-centred, trauma-informed scrutiny of policing. 

“I am grateful to PIRC staff for their commitment, professionalism and resilience. Their work, often carried out under significant pressure, has delivered meaningful outcomes for the public we serve.”