Complaints About the Police
I want to make a Complaint About the Police
Police Scotland wants to provide the best service we can to everyone in Scotland. We know that sometimes we might not always get it right or give the service a person expects.
If you believe that Police Scotland or any member of our staff has not provided the service you expected or that they have behaved unfairly or incorrectly then we want you to be confident about making a complaint.
Complaints are an important way for us to learn how we can improve the quality of service to the public.
Who can make a complaint?
To make a complaint about the police, you need to have directly witnessed what you wish to complain about or have been directly affected by it.
You can also act on behalf of either of the above, if you have the permission of the person who witnessed or was affected by the incident, to act on their behalf.
If you are not directly affected by or were not present at the incident that you have concerns about, you cannot use the complaints system to make your concerns known.
Incidents you have seen on social media, on TV or in newspapers.
You can’t make a complaint about something you have seen the police do on a video, that you have seen on a mobile phone or on social media involving people you don’t know or an event you didn’t attend. This also applies to things you have seen on TV or in a newspaper, or heard about from another person. This is because you didn’t witness the incident yourself or were not directly affected by it.
There is no time limit for making a complaint about the police, but if your complaint is about an incident that took place more than 12 months ago, you may be asked why you did not make your complaint sooner.
