Report – Police Scotland – PIRC/00678/25
The Complaints
The complaint in this case arose after the applicant was arrested under Section 38(1) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 and held in police custody. The applicant informed the custody officer that he had undergone sinus surgery the day before and had medication to take. The applicant was interviewed and released the next morning on an undertaking to appear at court at a later day. We have reviewed the handling of ten complaints, namely that:
On 30 June 2023, the applicant’s right to liberty under ECHR was breached.
Officers arrested the applicant 24 hours post-surgery, which the applicant feels was wrong.
The applicant was refused access to his medication, despite informing officers that he was post-surgery and had to take regular medication.
Officers did not allow the applicant to speak to his lawyer in private, as his telephone conversation was at the booking desk.
Whilst in custody, an officer stated “listen, you’ll be no getting anything. You’ll be getting interviewed” and in response to the applicant advising that he had to go to hospital, the officer said “no, you’ll be going into a cell”.
The applicant was interviewed whilst unfit, despite informing officers that he had undergone surgery and was under the influence of strong medication.
On 1 July 2025, when the applicant was taken from his cell to provide fingerprints, he informed an officer that he was unsteady on his feet, felt pressure in his head, and needed medication, which was refused.
An officer told the applicant he would be released soon, but he was not.
The applicant pressed the cell buzzer and asked to go to hospital because his heart was racing and he was hallucinating, however an officer said “you can go to hospital but you’ll be [there] for 11 hours, or you can keep your mouth shut and get out of here in 2 hours, and can take as many of the fucking tablets as you want”.
The applicant is dissatisfied with the time taken to investigate his complaint about the police.
Police Scotland's Decision
Police Scotland upheld complaints 3 and 10 but did not uphold complaints 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Our Findings
We have found that Police Scotland handled complaints 1, 2, 3, 6, and 10 to a reasonable standard but not so complaints 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9.
Consequently, we have made four recommendations to address the shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of complaints 4, 5, 7, and 9. In summary, we have recommended that Police Scotland reassess all four complaints and provide the applicant with a well-reasoned further response which clearly explains how the information available informed the conclusions reached.
Our recommendations should be implemented by Police Scotland within two months of the date of this report.
Police Bodies: Police Scotland