This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Appointment of first Police Complaints Commissioner
17/11/2006
Mr Jim Martin has been appointed as Scotland's first Police Complaints Commissioner.
The new Commissioner, who will begin work on April 1, 2007, will provide independent scrutiny of the way the police handle non-criminal complaints from the public. He will also have powers to direct police forces to reexamine any complaints that he considers have not been dealt with properly.
Investigations of criminal allegations about the police will continue to be handled by area procurators fiscal.
Mr Martin is currently the Scottish non-executive chairman of Logica CMG and runs a consultancy. He was General Secretary for the Educational Institute of Scotland from 1987 until 1995 and serves as a member of the Scottish Funding Council.
Announcing Mr Martin's appointment, Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said:
"Scotland now has a record number of police officers, supported by record investment, working hard to make our communities a safer place to live and work.
"Through the Police Act we have provided the police service with better tools to support the challenges of policing in the 21st Century.
"It is vital that the public continues to have confidence in our police service and modernising Scotland's police complaints system and making it fully transparent for those who need to use it is an important element in that work.
"That is why we pledged to establish an independent police complaints body which will begin work next April. I am delighted that Jim Martin is to be Scotland's first Police Complaints Commissioner. I am confident that he will play a major part in driving up standards and ensuring consistency in the way the police handle complaints.
"The Commissioner will set standards for the way the police handle complaints and, when something has gone wrong, help the police learn lessons and improve the way they work."
Jim Martin said:
"I am looking forward to the challenge of the new post. I will be working in partnership with all the key stakeholders to help modernise Scotland's police complaints system."
Background
In line with the legislation establishing the Police Complaints Commissioner, Mr Martin has no previous connections with the police.
The Police Complaints Commissioner's appointment will take effect on January 1, 2007, and he will take on his functions on April 1, 2007. The appointment will be for three years. The role is expected to require approximately 8 days per month, and he will be remunerated at the rate of £320 per day
From April 1, the Commissioner will have powers to undertake a complaint handling review to see how a matter has been dealt with. Depending on the outcome of this, the Commissioner will be able to direct the police to reconsider a complaint.
The Commissioner will also have a general responsibility for ensuring that police organisations in Scotland have in place appropriate procedures for handling complaints and that these procedures are followed effectively.
The new arrangements will build on the strengths of the existing system for handling non-criminal complaints but will also introduce arrangements for a national overview by the Commissioner of standards and consistency in complaint handling by all police organisations in Scotland.
Any complaints involving allegations of criminality will continue to be referred directly to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The Commissioner will only consider non-criminal complaints.
Scottish Ministers made a commitment in 2003 to reform the police complaints system in Scotland by establishing an independent police complaints body. The aim was to enable police handling of non-criminal complaints to be overseen and scrutinised by a body completely independent of the police service.
This commitment will be implemented through provisions in the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMIC) currently has statutory authority to examine complaints referred to it by members of the public who are dissatisfied with the manner in which forces deal with complaints. They do this alongside their core work on inspections. On 1 April 2007, this function in relation to complaints will pass to the new Commissioner.
The creation of this body is based on the desire for greater transparency and robustness in how police complaints handling is overseen, not on any dissatisfaction with HMIC in this role.