Complaints About the Police
Types and definition of a complaint about the police
There are two main types of complaint that can be made about the police:-
- Complaints about quality of service or delivery of operational policing matters e.g. performance, policy or procedural issues; and
- Complaints about staff - on or off duty conduct complaints about any member of the force (police officers, police staff and/or special constables)
The definition of a complaint about the Police in the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006 introduced on 1st April 2007 is:-
"A written expression of dissatisfaction about an act or omission by a Police Authority, a Joint Police Board, a Police Force, the Authority, the Agency or by a person who at the time of the act or omission was a person serving with the police."
In this section
- Types and definition of a complaint about the police
- Who can make a complaint
- How to make a complaint
- What information should you provide when making a complaint
- How will my complaint be investigated
- The role of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
- Malicious complaints
- Complaints about senior officers
- What if I am not satisfied with the way that the police handled my complaint
- Learning from complaints
