More woes for under fire Police Scotland

Police Scotland continues to lurch from crisis to crisis. Senior staff insist criticism of its call handling is a result of false perception, not endemic failure. The Scottish Conservatives have compiled a list of more than 200 recorded incidents which were not deemed to have been dealt with properly.

They include the snubbing of a St Andrews woman who dialled 999 just 90 minutes before being murdered by her brother. She was told her complaint was not being routed through the proper channels, despite being a known vulnerable victim of domestic abuse.

Police Scotland and the Scottish Government are right to point out 200 mis-handled calls is a tiny proportion of the 2.2 million handlers deal with annually.

Authorities also maintain such incidents of human error also happened before the call room amalgamations – they believe they will happen no matter the call handling set-up. That is cold comfort for those whose lives are at stake. Even if centralising call handling has not overly adversely affected performance, it certainly has not helped.

The force is currently without a chief constable – on special leave pending the outcome of multiple bullying complaints – is monitored by a toothless Police Authority and defended to the hilt by the Scottish Government which created it.

The resulting loss in public confidence is crippling and must be halted.