HER MAJESTY'S CHIEF INSPECTOR OF CONSTABULARY FOR SCOTLAND REPORT FOR 1998/99

7 Complaints and Discipline

1. An important part of the work of the Inspectorate relates to examination of how complaints against the police are investigated and dealt with by forces. This responsibility is discharged during the regular inspection process by visits to the force lead department, discussions with Police Board members, examinations of a sample of files and a listening ear to the concerns of community groups/representatives.

2. HM Lay Inspector of Constabulary provides an important dimension to the inspection process by giving an independent viewpoint from a non-police background and taking a key role in fulfilling the Inspectorate's statutory obligations in terms of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 as amended by the Police and Magistrates Courts Act 1994. This provides that someone who is dissatisfied with the way in which a force has dealt with their complaint may refer the matter to the Inspectorate who fully review the way the complaint was handled and, if appropriate, direct the Chief Constable to reconsider the complaint.

3. Last year, 44 people contacted HMIC, to express dissatisfaction with the way forces had dealt with their complaints. This is an increase of 8 from 1997/98. A number of the complainers raised concerns about operational policing policy and practice which did not constitute dissatisfaction with the handling of a complaint itself. HMIC reviews copies of the force files, requests information and may visit the force but does not re-investigate or gather evidence. Great care is taken with this examination and a full reply made to the complainer, force (and officers subject of the complaint). Satisfaction cannot always be secured but thoroughness is and this can lead to suggestions to the force for improvement.

4. Regular inspections and the post investigation involvement, since 1996, by HM Inspectorate has contributed to a more rigorous approach in the recording and investigation of complaints. In general, forces can be commended for their diligence and the assessment of files shows that, throughout Scotland, Deputy Chief Constables (DCCs) and officers dealing with the investigation of complaints take their responsibilities to be thorough and fair in these matters very seriously. That said the handling of complaints is a key area of accountability for the effectiveness of service delivery and the Inspectorate will continue to put this issue as a priority area for inspection focus.

5. This year 1479 complaints cases were raised with forces compared to 1261 last year. This is a reversal of the downward trend of the last 5 years. There are no obvious reasons for the upturn however analysis continues by forces who are closely monitoring the situation, as are the Inspectorate.

6. All criminal allegations against police officers must be referred to the Procurator Fiscal who decides whether or not to proceed with action against any officer. Individual complaint cases may involve more than one allegation and the table below shows the number of allegations made during 1998-99, with those referred to the Procurator Fiscal and where criminal proceedings were taken. Whilst the total number of allegations has remained virtually the same there was a reduction in the number of those referred to the Procurator Fiscal (48% as against 52%). These tend to represent the most serious of the complaints reported to the police.

7. Rightly, the public expect the highest standards of behaviour from police officers and Chief Constables have the power to enforce sanctions against those who fail to meet these standards. Discipline and misconduct hearings, for incidents before or after 1 August 1996 respectively, were held for 89 officers during the year and disposal of these cases is outlined below. Misconduct hearings may be delegated to superintendents and last year's report indicated there may have been some inappropriate diversity in punishment. Monitoring during the course of Inspections suggests this is no longer an issue.

8. Statistics over the year reflect some improvements in areas relating to complaints. Forces continue tightening their procedures for investigating complaints, particularly minor ones. However there can be no room for complacency and the ongoing ACPOS deliberations aimed at agreeing common standards in respect of the recording and investigation of complaints throughout Scotland is timely (see also paragraph 6 of Introductory Remarks).

Care and Custody of Prisoners

9. The care and welfare of prisoners in police custody is of paramount importance and HMIC gives this area careful scrutiny during the course of Inspections. Several forces have revisited their policies and guidelines to staff during the course of the year to ensure good practice identified from HMIC Inspections and lessons learned from other sources are incorporated within appropriate instructions

10. The modernisation and upgrade of cell areas continues with the provision of facilities to ensure a better and safer environment for people detained in police custody. The installation of CCTV and audio facilities in custody areas is continuing as forces' resources allow but the allocation of capital to this aspect of policing remains below that necessary to bring about the broad improvements, increased accountability and safety benefits for suspect and staff that HMIC considers necessary. There are competing demands for scarce resources but the merits of this expenditure needs to be pressed home hard. While support staff are employed as custody assistants in forces their numbers are small and more could be done to develop this initiative in order to release police officers to concentrate on core policing activities.

11. There is limited secure accommodation for child suspects in Scotland but this fact should not be used as an inappropriate reason for detaining children in police custody. In cases of grave crime or where liberation would defeat the ends of justice the law provides that children may be detained. A child who is not liberated should except in special circumstances be kept in a place of safety other than a police station. One of the circumstances in which a child can be lawfully detained at a police station is where it is impracticable to do otherwise. The fact that the nearest secure accommodation for children detained in Scotland is often the north of England might mean that it is impracticable for that child to be escorted several hundred miles to a place of safety and returned the next day, but this impracticality is only brought about by the inadequate provision of secure accommodation. A multi agency approach is required if a solution is to be achieved.

12. Despite the level of care and attention provided for detained persons, there are occasions where, each year, people die whilst in police custody (although the definition is not limited to persons in formal custody after being arrested). It is a measure of the seriousness with which this is regarded that, on each occasion, a Fatal Accident Inquiry must be held. Last year 7 such deaths were reported. The table below indicates the number of deaths annually in police custody over the last 10 years.

*Covers the period 1.1.95 to 31.3.96