Report – Police Scotland – PIRC/00166/25
The Complaints
The complaints in this case arose after officers stopped the applicant on the street as part of a missing person enquiry. The applicant was upset by the stop. Her interactions with the officers involved were the basis of her complaints.
We have reviewed the handling of three complaints, namely that:
- Officers laughed at and made fun of the applicant, intimidated, goaded and bullied her for a period of 30 minutes.
- Officers did not provide their names or shoulder numbers when asked.
- Officers were uncivil to the applicant because she is female.
Police Scotland's Decision
Police Scotland did not uphold any of the applicant’s complaints.
Our Findings
We have found that Police Scotland did not handle the applicant’s complaints to a reasonable standard.
Consequently, we have made three recommendations. In summary, we have recommended that Police Scotland seek accounts from the subject officers and issue a further letter of response to the applicant that clearly explains the outcome of the additional enquiries and the rationale for whichever conclusion is reached. We have also recommended that Police Scotland seek clarity from the applicant regarding the crux of the complaint 3.
We have also identified a learning point regarding the language used in the complaint response.
Our recommendations and learning point should be implemented by Police Scotland within two months of the date of this report.
Police Bodies: Police Scotland