Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

The complaint in this case arose after the applicant applicant’s son was convicted of domestic abuse. The reported threatening comments being made on social media posts about his son’s conviction. The applicant was informed that the social media posts had been reviewed by an officer from the Crime Management Unit and were not considered to be criminal. We have reviewed the handling of a single complaint, namely that: 

• Police Scotland failed to record a crime following the applicant’s report regarding comments made on social media.

Police Scotland's Decision

Police Scotland did not uphold the applicant’s complaint. 

Our Findings

We have found that Police Scotland did not handle the applicant’s complaint to a reasonable standard. 

Consequently, we have made a recommendation to address the shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaint. In summary, we recommend that Police Scotland conduct all necessary further enquiries, re-assess the available information and taking account of our observations, issue the applicant with a further response which provides sufficient explanation to support the determination reached. 

Our recommendation should be implemented by Police Scotland within two months of the date of this report. 

Outcome

Police Scotland implemented a single recommendation in this case. In doing so, Police Scotland re-assessed the complaint, taking account of our observations, and provided the applicant with a further response which clearly explained why the complaint remained not upheld.

Police Bodies: Police Scotland