Report Summary
The Scottish Police Authority provided written evidence to the Scottish Government's Criminal Justice Committee on the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) Bill. This was submitted on 6 December 2024.
This should be read alongside the Authority’s responses to the pro-forma call for views on the Bill.
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“Relevant” complaints
“Relevant” complaints
The Authority supports the provisions in the Bill concerning relevant complaints (sections 10-12). In the Authority’s view, however, consideration should be given to whether “relevant complaint” is an appropriate term for describing complaints by members of the public.
In the Authority’s experience, the term sometimes causes confusion among the public and the media who have interpreted it as meaning that some complaints are “relevant”, while others are “irrelevant”. This can be unhelpful when communicating with members of the public in relation to their complaints.
In the Authority’s view, the term used to describe complaints by members of the public should be plain and unambiguous (e.g. “public complaint”).
Scottish Police Authority
6 December 2023
