Watchdog calls for changes to police complaints system
‘Officers frightened to speak out’
DISCUSSIONS should be held into whether Police Scotland should be allowed to investigate itself, the national watchdog chief has warned.
Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) Kate Frame yesterday called on MSPs to probe how complaints about the country’s crisis-hit force are handled.
And she has urged them to review who carries out investigations, insisting most Scots believe they should be handled independently.
In her first interview since becoming the PIRC chief four years ago, Mrs Frame also spoke out against the ‘hierarchical structure’ within Police Scotland which she believes has left some officers ‘frightened’ to raise complaints.
Her intervention raises concerns about the culture within the single force which has been plagued by plummeting morale, while chiefs have been forced to deal with internal investigations and the resignation of chief constable Phil Gormley. In recent years Police Scotland’s internal investigations of officers has been heavily criticised.
Mrs Frame said: ‘There is a discussion to be had about whether the police should investigate themselves.
‘I think that from the public’s position, they would feel an independent investigation which has not been undertaken by the police would be preferable.’
For PIRC to probe complaints, they must first be referred to the Crown Office from Police Scotland after being raised by officers to senior officials within the force.
But Mrs Frame revealed that PIRC dealt with only 5 per cent of complaints made about officers. She said the rate should be higher but police officials failed to refer potentially criminal allegations to the Crown Office and PIRC.
She said: ‘In most cases, it is simply a matter where the police have not given the opportunity to the Crown Office to determine whether an independent investigation should be undertaken and they themselves have pressed on with their inquiries.
‘Then, at the conclusion of those inquiries, they have submitted a report to the Crown, by which time it has passed the point of being referred to us for independent investigation.’
In England and Wales an independent organisation is tasked with operating a whistleblowing line, but this is not the case in Scotland. Mrs Frame believes this leaves some at Police Scotland too ‘frightened’ to report misconduct or alleged criminality.
She said: ‘It is a fairly hierarchical structure in the police and there would appear to be incidents where officers are frightened to speak out. I have seen it in cases referred to us.’
Holyrood’s justice committee is reviewing the first five years of Police Scotland.
Mrs Frame has urged them to consider how complaints into misconduct and potential criminality are handled, and who investigates them. And she said that while senior officials are ‘becoming more accustomed’ to PIRC, there is still ‘pockets of resistance’.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘I think there is concern among the public about police effectively investigating one another when something goes wrong.
‘There is certainly an argument to be made about an independent body to examine these issues.
‘I think the most concerning element of this is that some officers clearly feel afraid to come forward with complaints. No matter what the system is, no one should think that they cannot safely raise any concerns that they may have.’
Mrs Frame’s intervention comes after an English chief constable brought in to investigate a spying scandal at Police Scotland said he found incompetence and reckless decision-making in the force’s Counter Corruption Unit – which handles internal complaints.
Acting Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said: ‘Police Scotland investigates all complaints by officers and staff robustly. We fully recognise the importance of supporting staff and ensuring we provide for their welfare.’