Complaint Handling Reviews

The Complaints

We have reviewed the handling of five complaints, namely that:

1. in October 2020, investigating officers manipulated the applicant when she was in a highly distressed state and exploited her vulnerability to remove the facial recognition setting on her phone, granting them access;
2. the applicant’s warrant card image was used for identification purposes and shown to a witness, which breached national guidance on the use of photographs;
3. the investigating officers unlawfully directed a witness to select the applicant’s image from a set of photographs for identification purposes;
4. in August 2022, at a Sheriff Court, the investigating officers and a senior officer breached confidentiality and showed a lack of empathy by openly discussing the applicant’s case in front of a member of the public; and
5. whilst giving their evidence at court, the investigating officers were unprepared and provided inaccurate information, demonstrating a lack of professionalism. 

Police Scotland’s Decision

Police Scotland did not uphold any of the applicant’s complaints subject of our review. 

Our Findings

We have found that Police Scotland handled all the complaints to a reasonable standard.