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HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland

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The investigation of complaints against the police in Scotland

5. Human Resource Issues

Equal opportunities and personnel management

5.1 During the inspection human resource issues affecting force complaints departments were briefly examined. In a few cases vacancies in departments were advertised within forces and filled by competition. More commonly however vacancies were filled by internal selection by senior officers. Whilst some posts were subject to set periods of tenure it was more usual for tenure to be at the discretion of the deputy chief constable. Many complaint investigations are allocated to operational inspectors who reflect the mix of gender and background which is increasingly evident in the service. HMIC nevertheless examined the gender and ethnic mix among full time investigators who tend to deal with the more significant cases. At the time of the inspection there were a total of 29 full time investigators in the complaints departments of Scottish forces. Of these, none was female and none was from an ethnic minority background. All of the senior officers responsible for the management of departments were male and white.

5.2 Whilst the position viewed during the inspection was at a particular time and may not be typical of the longer term, HMIC recommends that chief constables review their arrangements for selecting personnel for complaints departments in order to ensure that the requirements of equal opportunities are being fully met.

Training

5.3 During the course of the inspection a number of additional human resource issues were raised which HMIC considered briefly. Firstly there was the question of the training of senior officers who chair misconduct hearings. Whilst the material gathered by HMIC may not be representative there is some evidence that a significant number, if not the majority, of those who chair hearings have had no training whatsoever for the role. Some superintendents, not surprisingly, expressed concern at this both in respect of police misconduct and also regarding civilian discipline hearings in which senior police managers play an increasing role. HMIC is aware that training is available at the Scottish Police College but there appears to be a need for some forces to make better use of the training opportunities available. HMIC suggests that it would be good practice for only trained senior officers to chair misconduct hearings.

5.4 In Part 1, paragraphs 3.18 to 3.24 HMIC describes the different investigating procedures currently used by forces. In supporting change to these procedures HMIC recognises that there will be implications for investigating officers who may lack necessary skills and experience. At present, no specific training is available for officers appointed as investigator under the regulations and skills are more commonly developed either personally or from the experience of colleagues. HMIC considers this an area which would benefit from a training needs analysis and suggests that ACPOS liaise with the director of the Scottish Police College to consider this matter further. This should be included in the code of practice referred to in recommendation 6.

Medical retirals

5.5 A further issue raised was the familiar topic of medical retirals prior to a misconduct hearing. When these occur they can create an understandable public perception that police officers guilty of misconduct are escaping the consequences and securing a comfortable exit from the service at the expense of the taxpayer. Forces which have sought legal advice on this issue have been told that medical retirals are difficult to prevent whatever misconduct issues are pending. HMIC understand that ministers are alert to this issue and that consideration of what can be done is taking place as part of a wider review of police pensions. For the purpose of this report HMIC wishes to record the universal frustration of chief constables and others at their apparent inability to address this issue without legislative change. Although HMIC have been told that only a very small number of officers fall within this category, it is nevertheless hard to deny that a number of the cases which have occurred have achieved a high profile which has done little for the reputation of the service. HMIC considers that the issue would arise less frequently if forces were more expeditious in moving towards formal hearings in cases of Section 1 Paragraph 3.27 of this report contains specific recommendations in this regard.

Support staff

A third of the service

5.6 About one third of the Scottish police service are not police officers but civilians, now known as "police support staff". Originally introduced to carry out routine support tasks, civilians have increasingly moved into more senior and front line positions, such as driving police vehicles, managing communications, gathering scientific evidence and handling prisoners. Under the current legislation governing police complaints no reference is made to the support staff third of the service and complaints against support staff members of the police are not recorded for statistical purposes. Although no national guidelines have been produced in respect of complaints against support staff some common practices have developed. Where a complaint alleges criminal conduct, an investigating officer is appointed and following a full investigation, a report is submitted to the regional procurator fiscal. If the criminal allegation was against a member of support staff and a police officer working together then a report covering all the circumstances of the allegation would be submitted in the same way. The main difference in procedures for support staff arises where an allegation is one of misconduct. Misconduct allegations concerning a member of support staff will be dealt with by line managers with the assistance of qualified personnel staff where necessary. Such staff are trained and practised in the use of employment regulations and are an essential source of guidance to senior police officers who are generally less well qualified in this area. Depending on the seriousness of the issue or whether the employee has received warnings in the past, a hearing may be convened which, in the case of gross misconduct may result in the employee's dismissal. The standard of proof in such cases is the "balance of probabilities". All police forces have procedures, usually agreed with trade unions, on how alleged misconduct by support staff may be addressed. In some cases the procedures closely follow those of the "lead" local authority. However, there is no national code for addressing complaints against support staff and ACPOS have recently considered including such complaints in force complaint statistics. Whilst it is right that this matter should be considered it remains the case that complaints against the police are governed by a statutory code which relates entirely to police officers. It should also be remembered that the Police Support Staff Council (Scotland) is the national negotiating body with responsibility for the conditions of service of support staff in the police service and they would need to approve any significant change. Nevertheless HMIC considers it unsatisfactory that published police complaints procedures and statistics currently exclude one third of the service.

Special constables

5.7 In Scotland there are approximately 1,650 special constables. These officers perform duty on an unpaid part time basis and are an important part of the service, particularly in remote areas. ACPOS and the Scottish Executive have recently been in discussion with a view to updating the disciplinary rules for special constables. However these discussions have not so far extended to formal inclusion in the complaints process. As with support staff HMIC considers that it is now appropriate to formally encompass all who work in the Scottish police service, within a single code in respect of complaints.

HMIC therefore recommends that chief constables, the Scottish Executive and the Police Support Staff Council (Scotland) develop a code covering complaints against police staff who are not regular constables.

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