Report – Police Scotland – PIRC/00087/26
The Complaints
The complaint in this case arose after the police attended an incident involving the applicant and his neighbour. The applicant and his parents have had ongoing issues with a neighbour living across the street. On one occasion, the neighbour was reported for an assault against the applicant. Thereafter, the neighbour reported the applicant and his dad for a section 38 offence. Both parties were reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, however, no criminal proceedings were instigated. We have reviewed the handling of five complaints, namely that:
An officer showed bias towards another party, who was a retired police officer.
The applicant is dissatisfied that a previous reported assault did not get sent to the Procurator Fiscal.
The applicant is dissatisfied that he and his father were charged with an offence.
Officers did not investigate a crime, namely a section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act (2010); and
The applicant is dissatisfied that an officer put pressure on him to sign productions.
Police Scotland's Decision
Police Scotland did not uphold the applicant’s complaints.
Our Findings
We have found that Police Scotland handled complaints 2, 3, 4 and 5 to a reasonable standard but not so complaint 1.
Consequently, we have made a single recommendation to address the shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of complaint 1. In summary, we have recommended that Police Scotland update the Complaint Handling Form to reflect the changes in the subject officer for this complaint.
Police Bodies: Police Scotland