Rank and file cops ‘too scunnered’ to make complaints
Fed-up officers feel they are being ignored
MANY police officers are too “scunnered” to complain about work conditions as they believe nothing will change, MSPs have been told.
Calum Steele, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said officers were too used to working conditions being “disregarded and ignored”.
Holyrood’s Justice SubCommittee on Policing will take evidence tomorrow on issues with Police Scotland’s procedures for internal complaints, including grievances and whistleblowing.
In a written submission to the committee, Steele highlighted a staff survey in which only eight per cent of officers said they believed the service was genuinely interested in their wellbeing.
He said: “Against this it is telling that so very few police officers raise grievances. Rather than be considered as a sign of positivity, this suggests a fundamental lack of confidence in the processes.
“Many police officers are simply scunnered. They experience their working conditions being regularly disregarded and ignored.
“They have so little confidence that things will improve that they often ask themselves, ‘What is the point as nothing will change?’
“These are matters that should be of the gravest concern.”
In a separate submission, Unison, the main union for police staff, said they believed there were still gaps in the provisions for internal complaints and concerns about how grievances are handled.
Unison’s Dave Watson said: “This can contribute to the aggrieved feeling fobbed off.”
The union said it was “vital that those who raise concerns have the confidence to do so without fear of reprisal or there being no action being taken.”
MSPs are due to take evidence from Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone. He said: “Police Scotland investigate all complaints by officers and staff robustly and have improved the complaints process.
“Staff are encouraged to raise any concerns they may have through a variety of methods.
“In addition, we recently introduced a force whistleblowing policy and guidance for all officers and staff. The priority is to ensure the matter is raised and acted upon.”