Category: Police Scotland

The chief constable of Police Scotland, Phil Gormley, has stepped aside after further allegations of gross misconduct were made against him.

It emerged in July that Mr Gormley was being investigated by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) over bullying allegations.

He has now taken “special leave” after a further complaint was made.

Mr Gormley denies the allegations, and said he intends to resume his duties in the future.

He was appointed as chief constable of Police Scotland – which is the second largest force in the UK after the Metropolitan Police in London – in January of last year, and his contract still has 16 months to run.

‘Reject the allegations’

In a statement, he said: “I have been notified by the SPA of a complaint made against me. This complaint originates from a member of the Force Executive.

“In the interests of the office of chief constable and the broader interests of Police Scotland, I have sought and been granted special leave to enable this matter to be properly assessed.

“I deny and reject the allegations and will co-operate with the SPA’s assessment and procedures. It is my intention to resume my full duties when this matter has been resolved.”

What complaints have been made against Mr Gormley?

• In July, Pirc began an inquiry following allegations made by a police superintendent of bullying which, if proved, would amount to gross misconduct.
• Last month a second complaint – by a rank and file officer – was received by the SPA which is considering whether to pass it to Pirc.
• And today the chief constable has been told Pirc is investigating a third complaint. This came from either a senior civilian manager or an assistant or deputy chief constable.

The Force Executive is Police Scotland’s senior management team, and is made up of officers ranked at Assistant Chief Constable and higher, as well as the force’s deputy chief officer and the director of information and communications technology.

The latest complaint against Mr Gormley was passed to Pirc by the SPA, with the commissioner concluding that the claims would amount to gross misconduct if found to be true.

A statement released by Pirc confirmed it was also still investigating the earlier allegations of misconduct made against the chief constable.

The statement added: “Once each investigation is concluded, the commissioner will submit a report to the SPA containing a summary of the evidence and providing an opinion on whether the misconduct allegations about the chief constable should be referred to a misconduct hearing.

 Police Scotland is the second largest force in the UK after the Metropolitan Police

“Where the Authority determines that there is a case to answer for either misconduct or gross misconduct, it must refer the misconduct allegation to a misconduct hearing.”

The SPA, which holds Police Scotland to account, said it would keep the decision to grant the chief constable leave under review on a four-weekly basis.

Iain Livingstone, who is Mr Gormley’s deputy, will take over the top job until further notice. Mr Livingstone is due to retire later this year.

What is “gross misconduct”?

Police Scotland defines gross misconduct as “a breach of the standards of professional behaviour which is so serious that dismissal may be justified”.

These standards cover:

• Honesty and Integrity
• Authority, Respect and Courtesy
• Equality and Diversity
• Use of Force
• Orders and Instructions
• Duties and Responsibilities
• Confidentiality
• Fitness for Duty
• Discreditable Conduct

Mr Gormley was appointed as chief constable of Police Scotland in January 2016 after taking over from Sir Stephen House.

He had formerly been deputy director of the National Crime Agency, and had served as the chief constable of Norfolk Police.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie had been among those calling for Mr Gormley to stand aside when the initial allegations were made against him in July.

Mr Rennie said: “It has taken too long but Phil Gormley has made the right decision to temporarily stand aside and I commend him on that.

“The investigation needs to be completed effectively and swiftly so that Police Scotland can move on.

“There is a lot to fix in Police Scotland and we need effective leadership to fix it.”

The Scottish Conservatives called for a “swift and thorough investigation”, while Labour urged the Scottish government to clarify what impact Mr Gormley’s decision to step aside would have on the “already shaky management” of Police Scotland.

John Finnie of the Scottish Greens, who is a former police officer, said he believed it was “wise” for the chief constable to take special leave while the investigations were ongoing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41201281    https://archive.is/CX126

Police Scotland and forces across the UK should recruit a network of volunteers to take on the growing threat from sophisticated cyber criminals, it has been claimed.

Independent think-tank Reform said 12,000 IT experts are needed to help bolster the police response to cyber crime, which is said to account for around half of all recorded offences.

Reform said new technology such as body-worn cameras would help “transform” policing and help reduce the burden on the frontline.

According to the think-tank, UK police recorded 30,000 instances of online stalking and harassment last year. It estimated that up to 2,500 people in the UK use the most popular “dark web” server for illegal purposes – including revenge pornography 
and child sex abuse – each day.Reform said only 40 of 13,500 volunteers working for police forces in the UK are cyber experts.

It highlighted the example of Estonia, where 1 per cent of IT professionals are employed as on-demand volunteers.

The report states: “Other countries have significantly larger volunteer bodies. Estonia has created a cyber unit within its reserve force. its remit is to prevent and respond to serious cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, allowing forces and national bodies to call on members to provide information and help defend individuals, businesses, local areas and the entire country.

Estonia’s reserve force has an estimated 1 per cent of the country’s IT experts, with just three full-time employees. This would translate to 11,831 volunteers in the UK. Calling on cyber experts in an ad hoc fashion – to respond to demand or be part of discrete projects – would tap into the civic spirit of UK citizens.”

Alexander Hitchcock, the report’s co-author, said: “As people live more of their lives online, they need confidence that the police will help them do this securely. Bobbies urgently need the technology, skills and confidence to patrol an online beat.”

Earlier this year, Police Scotland unveiled plans to create a “special constabulary” of private sector computer specialists who could be called on to help defeat cyber crime. The national force said it wanted a “cadre of experts” to help bolster its reaction to ransomware attacks, such as the one that hit the NHS in May. But Calum Steele, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation union, criticised the plan, saying it raised  questions about how vetting would be carried out.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/police-need-thousands-of-volunteers-to-help-defeat-cyber-crime-1-4539436

POLICE Scotland is facing fresh questions over its covert law enforcement strategies after being forced into confirming the recruitment of 759 informants.

The single force finally published the figure, which amounts to over 20 covert human intelligence sources (CHIS) a month, after a failed court bid to stop the information from being released.

However, campaigners yesterday demanded to know if any of the informants had snooped on protest and campaign groups.

15th June 2017

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15348135.Boss_of_police_body_finally_quits_in_row_over_secrecy/ 

THE police watchdog has launched an gross misconduct investigation into Police Scotland Chief Constable Phil Gormley.

The Police Investigations & Review Commissioner has so far given no indication of what the allegation is about but it is understood to amount to a serious breach of professional standards that if proven could lead to him being fired.

The Scottish Police Authority passed the details onto PIRC after deciding the misconduct allegation should be investigated.

The PIRC said: “Once the investigation is concluded the Commissioner must determine whether, in the investigator’s opinion, the senior officer has a case to answer in relation to the misconduct allegation.

“The Commissioner must submit a report to the SPA containing a summary of the evidence and the investigator’s opinion on whether the allegation should be referred to a misconduct hearing.

“Where the Authority determines that there is a case to answer for either misconduct or gross misconduct, it must refer the misconduct allegation to a misconduct hearing.

“As this is a live investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

Mr Gormley, who was sworn is as the head of Police Scotland just a year-and-a-half ago said: “I can confirm that today I was informed by the PIRC that I am the subject of a conduct investigation.

“I am cooperating fully with the PIRC and will provide all necessary assistance to bring this matter to a timely and satisfactory conclusion. In fairness to others who may be involved, it is not appropriate for me to comment further at this time.”

Mr Gormley who became only the second Chief Constable since the Scottish police forces merged in 2013, added: “I would like to stress that I remain focussed on leading Police Scotland, ensuring that we continue to serve and protect the people of this country.”

The Scottish Police Authority said consideration of complaints and conduct issues “are confidential while being progressed” and the SPA has a police of “not commenting on individual cases”.

It has stressed that while passing the case to PIRC, it does not mean they have investigated and found misconduct “but that in our assessment if proven it would amount to misconduct”.

An SPA spokesman added: “If an allegation relating to the conduct of a senior officer of Assistant Chief Constable rank or above is made, the SPA has the responsibility for receiving and assessing that allegation in line with The Police Service of Scotland (Senior Officers) (Conduct) Regulations 2013.

“If the SPA decides that a misconduct allegation is to be investigated, it must refer the allegation to the independent Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC). “

SPA’s own complaints handling procedures says that if it is assessed that an allegation against a senior officer if proved “would amount to gross misconduct or misconduct and has to be investigated then they must refer the allegation to PIRC for assessment and, potentially, for investigation”.

PIRC, which began the probe after a referral from the Scottish Police Authority, only referred to a “senior officer” in an official statement and would not discuss in general terms what the complaint related to.

But Police Scotland has confirmed that the Chief Constable is the senior officer.

Gross misconduct relates to breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour, as detailed in Schedule 1 of the 2013 Regulations, which is so serious that dismissal may be justified.

These standards cover:

*Honesty and Integrity

*Authority, Respect and Courtesy

*Equality and Diversity

*Use of Force

*Orders and Instructions

*Duties and Responsibilities

*Confidentiality

*Fitness for Duty

*Discreditable Conduct and Challenging and Reporting Improper Conduct

At the conclusion of a PIRC probe, it will generally recommend to the SPA whether the allegation should be referred to a misconduct hearing.

The SPA must then decide whether the Chief Constable has a case to answer in respect of misconduct, gross misconduct or neither. 

Where the authority decides  there is no case to answer it may take no action, take improvement action, or refer the matter to be dealt with under procedures maintained under regulation 23 of the Police Service of Scotland (Performance) Regulations 2103.

Where the authority determines that there is a case to answer in respect of either misconduct or gross misconduct, it must refer the misconduct allegation to a misconduct hearing.

Mr Gormley began his policing career 32 years ago as a constable with Thames Valley Police and was promoted to superintendent after 14 years service and ultimately commander with responsibility for the Southern Oxfordshire area.

In 2003, he joined the Metropolitan Police and was appointed Commander of Specialist Operations.

Two years later  he organised the merger of the Anti-Terrorist Branch and Special Branch into what would become the Counter Terrorism Command in 2006.

Before moving to Police Scotland, he was Chief Constable fo Norfolk Constabulary for three years where he was the second highest force head in the UK with a salary of £260,000.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15436124.Police_Scotland_Chief_Constable_Phil_Gormley_at_centre_of_gross_misconduct_probe_by_watchdog/

READ MORE. Meet Scotland’s Latest TOTALLY CORRUPT chief of police ~ Phil Gormless Gormley

Some 750 police staff jobs are being axed in Scotland including over 20 anti-terrorism staff, leading to concerns about whether the force will be able to keep people safe.

Unison says around 550 vacancies will not being filled and revealed that in March they were informed of another 200 jobs being shed out with that over a 12 month period, either through voluntary redundancy or through retirement.

The cuts, said to be what Police Scotland classified as “non-critical” are understood to involve four in the counter terrorism and borders policing division, and a further 19 in the organised crime and counter terrorism division, including cyber crime officers and forensic computer analysts. 

A number of the counter-terrorist staff who are set to leave are responsible for gathering intelligence and carrying out surveillance, it is understood.

The “deleted non critical” vacant posts in anti-terrorism divisions include two criminal intelligence analysts, three forensic computer analysts, two intelligence officers, four intelligence indexers, an interventions adviser, an intelligence assessor, a financial investigator, a reviewing officer, a productions officer and an office manager.

George McIrvine Unison police branch secretary said: “We are genuinely concerned we will not be able to keep people safe with brutal cuts like these.”

The development comes as Theresa May came under fire in the wake of the terror attacks in Manchester and London over cuts to the police and the intelligence agencies. 

The move means that around one in seven of Police Scotland’s civilian staff will be cut with numbers reduced from around 5500 to 4660, the union says.

Unison, which has suspended all discussions with the Joint Negotiation & Consultative Committee as they consult with members of what action to take on the development, say they have been concerned that police officers are being used to cover some vacancies and that the trend will continue.

Mr McIrvine added “The impact of the police staff jobs going is huge. The idea that Scotland’s police force is protected and cuts only happen to police forces in England & Wales is utter nonsense. Its getting tougher by the day to provide a service to the public.

“Many police staff are working 12 hour shifts, having leave cancelled, with sickness absence high because people are stressed. We are also told that police officers will continue to be taken off the streets to backfill our jobs at a time when we know they need to be visible in the communities gathering intelligence and reassuring the public.”

The staff cuts come four months after Police Scotland, in outlining its 10-year policing plan in February proposed to cut 400 officers with the service facing a £188m funding gap by 2020-21.

As part of the Policing 2026 strategy, police officers were to be released from corporate and backroom roles, with priority given to frontline operations and a more visible community presence.

Now Unison the union has said that they have been informed around one in 17 vacant civilian jobs in the force will be “deleted”, or not filled, leading to concerns that police will be taken off the streets to backfill posts.

The cuts are also said to include over 50 police custody and security support officers, 38 crime analysts and a number of managers including heads of legal services, information management, services delivery and service management.

Also axed are a series of IT management roles, including the head of IT infrastructure and the head of ICT commerical strategy and procurement.

The current force computer system has been condemned as not being fit for purpose after the failure of the i6 scheme to improve how Police Scotland records, manages and analyses information. It collapsed because of disagreements between the contractors, Accenture, and the government and the police.

A recent Audit Scotland report into the failure of the project urged Police Scotland to urgently reassess its IT needs after the collapse of the project Other cuts involve cleaners, call handlers and clerical staff.

The union said it discovered, following discussions with police managers, that the deleted vacancies dated back to the 2014/15 financial year.

Deputy Chief Officer David Page of Police Scotland said: “The 500 other posts are not new job losses – they are all non-critical vacant positions and the majority have gone unfilled for a considerable period of time as we have worked towards financial sustainability.”

He said the 200 job losses were corporate services and business support roles “which we are committed to managing through an engagement process with the unions”.

He added “Our Policing 2026 strategy, currently being finalised after public consultation, is about balancing the workforce so that we have the right people, with the right skills, working in the right place to keep people safe.

“This will include freeing up officers from back office jobs into operational roles, increasing policing productivity and recruiting more specialist police staff to work in operational areas.”

He also said: “Our Policing 2026 strategy, currently being finalised after public consultation, is about balancing the workforce so that we have the right people, with the right skills, working in the right place to keep people safe.

“This will include freeing up officers from back office jobs into operational roles, increasing policing productivity and recruiting 170 more specialist police staff to work in operational areas.

“In addition, we received additional funding this year to increase the police staff headcount by 185 to fill specialist roles that were deemed to be critical to operational policing.

“We are planning to reduce the number of posts in corporate services and business support roles by around 200 through voluntary severance, which we are committed to managing through an engagement process with the unions.

“The 500 other posts are not new job losses – they are all non-critical vacant positions and the majority have gone unfilled for a considerable period of time as we have worked towards financial sustainability.”

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15337432.Public_safety_fears_as_anti_terror_officers_are_included_amongst_750_axed_Scots_police_staff

The police control room in Inverness could be next to close as part of changes to call handling across Scotland.

Assistant Chief Constable John Hawkins confirmed that plans are in motion – but said any changes are yet to be signed off by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).

A retired senior police officer yesterday suggested a combined emergency services call centre for the Highlands instead.

Aberdeen’s police call centre closed last month – with the service being moved to Dundee and the central belt.

Mr Hawkins said: “The next phase of the call handling programme plans to see calls from the Inverness area control room transition into the Police Scotland service centre. Detailed governance and scrutiny takes place in advance of any key structural change and proposals must be signed off by the independent SPA before any transition will be implemented.”

He added there would be “no change” to the service provided by officers – while inisting that call handling would be “improved”.

Matthew Reiss, a former police area commander for the Far North, has long held concerns about changes to call handling.

Mr Reiss said: “These are experienced professional people doing a very pressured stressful role and they know that in a 999 call every second potentially counts. It’s unfair to add extra pressure on them.”

He said it was his opinion that a combined control room housing all of the 999 services somewhere in the Highlands would be the answer.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said it was a matter for the SPA – but said ministers expected changes to be “underpinned by extensive assurance activity”.

A spokeswoman for the SPA said: “No decision will be taken to transfer calls from Inverness until the SPA board is satisfied that the evidence and assurance provided by the senior responsible officer, local commander, HMICS, an independent gateway review and our own C3 governance and assurance group, means the service is supported and ready for the transfer of calls to take place.”

She added: “While we are confident that a strong call handling service is being provided to the public, we are not complacent and work continues to further strengthen the programme. We will, in a careful and considered way move towards realising the full benefits of a single integrated operating model with work around the next important milestone in the summer.”

Mr Reiss, Ind, is standing in the Thurso and Northwest Caithness ward at the elections alongside Gillian Coghill, Ind; Tommy Farmer, Ind; Alexander Glasgow, LD; Donnie Mackay, Ind; Struan Mackie, Con; Sandra Owsnett, Green; Matthew Reiss, Ind; Karl Rosie, SNP; Roger Saxon, Lab.

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/inverness/1221287/police-control-room-in-inverness-could-close-as-part-of-next-phase-of-changes/  https://archive.is/8qIqa

APRIL 13th 2017

• Question mark over the future of 58 police buildings 7 Nov 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-37850332  https://archive.is/bmlaz
• Edinburgh pays price for police cuts as front desks reduce opening  5 Sep 2016 http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/crime/edinburgh-pays-price-for-police-cuts-as-front-desks-reduce-opening-hours-1-4221217  https://archive.is/FajCH
• Police counters shut 560 times in six months  6 Mar 2016 http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/politics/police-counters-shut-560-times-in-six-months-1-4046443  https://archive.is/XNJ1y
• Police Scotland have no offices open 24/7 in Ayrshire 25 Feb 2016 http://www.ayradvertiser.com/news/14298687.not_open_all_hours/  https://archive.is/v45AO
• New Plan Announced for Police Scot Call Centre Closures 25.01.16 https://spidercatweb.wordpress.com/2016/01/25/new-plan-announced-for-police-scotland-call-centre-closures/

2014 NORTH EAST Police Station Public Counter Opening Hours PDF https://spidercatweb.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/public-counter-opening-hours.pdf  http://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/205073/public-counter-opening-hours

PDF Police Scotland Public Counter Service Provision – Highland Council  https://spidercatweb.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/item8icpe5013.pdf

2014 

7 Feb 2014 Changes to Police Station opening hours – Police Scotland 
http://www.scotland.police.uk/whats-happening/news/2014/february/208764/  https://archive.is/Fnjwr

Police Scotland confirms closure of dozens of public counters http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-26090598

FACEBOOK

PHIL GORMLEY. Scotland’s Latest TOTALLY CORRUPT Police Chief 5 Jan 2016 https://spidercatweb.blog/2016/01/05/meet-scotlands-newest-chief-of-police-phil-gormless-gormley/

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 Kevin McLeod was just 24-years old when he was found dead in Wick Harbour, back in 1997. It was there almost 20-years-ago that the engaged electrician drowned after suffering severe internal injuries to his abdomen.
The police say that Kevin died after tripping and falling onto a bollard – causing those injuries – but a Fatal Accident Inquiry ended with an open verdict.
But Kevin’s parents believe he was murdered, And over the next 2-decades Hugh and June have written almost 300-letters to Northern Constabulary and Police Scotland – urging the forces to re-investigate their son’s death as a murder inquiry.

3rd Feb 2017

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/1159352/happened-kevin-mcleod/

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/525336/cops-to-re-examine-case-of-kevin-mcleod-whose-body-was-found-in-wick-harbour-20yrs-ago-and-whose-family-says-was-murdered/

Police assessing Kevin McLeod’s death in Wick in 1997 Feb 2nd 2017

A man’s death in the Highlands 20 years ago is being looked at again by Police Scotland’s specialist crime division.

Kevin McLeod’s body was found in Wick harbour in February 1997. His death was treated as accidental, but his family believe he was murdered.

Northern Constabulary, the force that investigated his death at the time, was criticised for its handling of complaints from Mr McLeod’s family.

Police Scotland said it was assessing information relating to the case.

A spokesperson said: “Officers from specialist crime division are currently assessing the information relating to the death of Kevin McLeod. We continue to engage with the McLeod family and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP, Gail Ross, has asked Police Scotland whether the assessment is to rule out or confirm crime was involved.

The new development in the case follows discussions between the McLeod family and Police Scotland’s chief constable Phil Gormley.

Twenty-four-year-old Mr McLeod’s family have consistently criticised police for not investigating his death as a murder.

In 2007, the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland said Northern Constabulary behaved with “institutional arrogance” in the way it handled complaints from Mr McLeod’s parents, Hugh and June McLeod.

It ordered the then chief constable, Ian Latimer, to apologise in person to his relatives, which the senior officer did.

• Wick man Kevin McLeod’s family in new police complaint 18 January 2013
• Wick harbour death man Kevin McLeod’s case probed  17 Oct 2013
• Police complaints handling probed  12 Oct 2009
• Force fights disclosure ruling  17 Jul 2008
• Force head announces retirement  17 Apr 2008
• Police complaints rules set out  14 Jan 2008
• Police chief apologises to family 19 December 2007
• Police chief due to make apology 14 December 2007
• Force ‘arrogant’ towards family 30 Nov 2007
• In full: Police chief’s response  30 Nov 2007
• Uncle calls for chief to resign  30 Nov 2007
• Watchdog to review harbour death 1 Jun 2007
• Force criticised in secret report 2 February 2007
• Police and board comments in full 2 Feb 2007
• Report access for man’s relatives 16 Jan 2007
• Crown closes harbour death case 5 Feb 2005
• Officer faces Wick death hearing 18 Feb 2003
• Harbour death family press PM 28 March 2003
• Anger at halt to death inquiry  4 Apr 2003
• Death probe police ‘may face action’  16 Jan 2003
• Police reject death inquiry calls 5 Nov 2002
• New probe into harbour death 18 Dec 2001
• New witness may prompt police inquiry 19 Mar 2000

{Above links archived  Page 1 https://archive.is/mksqA   Page 2 https://archive.is/H5RRw}

http://www.mfr.co.uk/localnews/watch-wick-mum-confronts-top-scot-cop-over-sons-death/

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/945099/call-for-murder-probe/ 

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• What’s going on with young men in the North of Scotland? https://spidercatweb.blog/2016/12/09/missing-dead-men-scotland/
• Highlander Stefan Sutherland Murdered & Police Scotland do LESS THAN NOTHING https://spidercatweb.blog/2016/01/25/highland-man-murdered-police-scotland-do-less-than-nothing/
• 20 YEARS After His Death, ScotCops Re-Open Kevin McLeod Case  https://spidercatweb.blog/2017/02/03/kevin-mcleod/
• Lance Corporal Joe Spencer: Soldier shot dead at Highland military base https://spidercatweb.blog/2016/11/03/lance-corporal-joe-spence/

9th Dec 2016

Police may face charges over M9 crash incident under health and safety laws

 Dec 2nd 2016

Police call ‘near misses’ revealed

The force’s watchdog – the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) – is now looking into the initial response to Mr Insch’s call.

Ally said: “I find my mum at night and she’s crying in the kitchen, just by herself, because she doesn’t know who to trust. She worries about when she dies now – will they [the police] help out.”

The Scottish Information Commissioner ordered the disclosure of all the incident reports to BBC Scotland after the force denied a freedom of information request.

The documents reveal that 24 incidents were reported in the first month the new reporting system was live – a rate of nearly one incident a day in April.

Another 58 were logged between May and October 2016, with two still currently under investigation by Pirc.

The reports revealed 82 “near misses” which included:

• A 999 call to report a road traffic accident where a car was on its side and partially blocking the road, but the dispatcher noted the wrong location. Only after a second 999 call was made were police dispatched to the scene – but an hour later. The report notes: “This incident would not have been dealt with if a second call was not received.”
• A call was made regarding another car accident where the vehicle was upside down, with people trapped inside. The dispatcher logged the wrong address and the police, and ambulance, attended the wrong location resulting in a delay.
• An abandoned – or ‘silent’ – 999 call was received where an assault could be heard taking place in the background, before the line then went dead. The report notes that “the threat, risk and harm could have been reduced if this call had been identified as a potential crime in action and specifically brought to the attention of the duty officer.”
• A domestic incident and assault was reported but the dispatcher logged the wrong address which was subsequently passed on to attending police officers. This resulted in “crucial time being lost in maximising [the] safety of the reporter.”

• The mishandling of an email from the NSPCC resulted in a two-week delay in a resource being sent to check on the welfare of a child. This email was only discovered after another misplaced NSPCC email was found. The report noted “not dealing with [the referrals] timeously, or as a matter of urgency, can increase the risk” to “young vulnerable people”.
• An employee from a gas company forced entry to a property to read the meter, only to discover a dead body. They called 101, but the dispatcher only noted the forced entry and not the deceased which resulted in the incident being given a lower priority of “P3”. The report notes P3 incidents are usually only attended after a few hours and “so this call could have been unattended all day”. Only by chance were police able to attend sooner, assuming they were only attending a forced entry incident.
• A caller made a 999 call regarding a “threat to life” – they called another three times over an unknown period to ask why officers had not yet been dispatched. The incident report reveals the dispatcher failed to clarify the location, and informed the caller there were no officers available at the time to send out. The person in question was later found unconscious by officers.
• An operator did not transfer a 999 call, thinking it was a test call. A second call came minutes later stating it was a “genuine full emergency”. The subsequent incident report noted “this was a conscious decision by a member of staff not to follow procedure…as the incident was not logged until after [redacted], other emergency services were not contacted”.

Deputy Chief Constable Johnny Gwynne, who has strategic oversight of Police Scotland’s Contact, Command and Control division, said the new practice of logging “notable incidents” was specifically designed to improve the services the force offers to the public.

He said: “We deal with people at points of crisis every day of the week, every hour of the day. Our job is to make sure that we get things right as best we possibly can, and in an imperfect world. The men and women sitting in call centres are dealing with somewhere in the order of three and a half million calls a year, and it’s a massive endeavour that they have to actually work through that and identify particular risky moments in the volume that they deal with, and make sure that we have the right service at the right time”.

‘Blame and attribution’

DCC Gwynne added that some of the reported incidents were not down to staff error, but because the caller may have not known the address or may have mispronounced a location.

Calum Steele, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said that the 80 incidents reported out of 3.5 million calls received by police each year, did not signify a failing system.

He added: “There’s no doubt that the culture that’s been put in place within the police service and certainly within the call centres, where staff are encouraged now to be able to identify areas where things could’ve been improved, is certainly much better than the blame and attribution that used to take place in the past. The fact that we’ve got staff with the confidence to be able to put their hand up and say ‘look, in terms of an organisational response, we maybe could’ve done that better’, is undoubtedly a good thing. In a perfect world no mistakes would be made, but we deal with human beings and human beings, as we all know, with our fallibilities are not perfect individuals and almost any system, no matter what it is, that involves any form of human interaction, unfortunately cannot be deemed to be error-free.”

‘Culture of learning’

Forces in England and Wales have also been criticised for call handling.

In 2014 figures revealed more than a million callers who tried to get through to the police 101 non-emergency phone service in the previous year were cut off or decided to abandon their efforts.

The documents released by Police Scotland also included 11 ‘good work’ incidents which highlighted examples of good practice by staff.

These included the handling of calls regarding a hit and run, robbery, and pursuit of a stolen vehicle.

DCC Gwynne said the force was ultimately trying to foster “a corporate, conscious culture of learning” whereby staff are encouraged to proactively raise incidents in order to improve the call centre service.

But the 82 reports are all heavily redacted which makes it impossible to determine the frequency of the “near misses”, as well as whether particular staff members or call centres are responsible for the bulk of incidents.

However, they do reveal that the same mistakes – such as logging the wrong address – were made time and time again despite repeated reminders to staff about the importance of confirming details with callers.

Analysis also revealed how the “learning the lessons” section of the form was only filled out for half of the incidents.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Douglas Ross said:

“People expected Police Scotland to sort out call-handling after the M9 tragedy last year. However, these figures show there are still significant problems and more communities are worried about the further centralisation planned. This should serve as a reminder to the Scottish government that it can’t centralise these vital centres which need to be properly resourced and expect the same level of service. Public trust in the 101 number is low, and revelations like this will only damage that trust further.”

Scottish Labour’s Justice spokeswoman Claire Baker MSP said:

“It only takes one of these near misses to fully slip through the net for another preventable tragedy in Scotland to happen. With the memory of the M9 crash and the tragic deaths of Lamara Bell and John Yuill still fresh, these findings are deeply worrying. While I appreciate that these are only a small proportion of total calls received by police calls centres, simple mistakes such as failing to log the right address could cost lives. The public want to feel safe in their own communities and that in a moment of need officers will be there.”  BBC news

Police Scotland warned that call handling errors ‘could cost lives’

Fresh fears have been raised over the way Police Scotland handles emergency calls, after internal figures revealed a catalogue of serious errors made by call centre staff. Scottish police have recorded 82 “notable incidents” or “near misses” since April due to call handling errors, according to statistics obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act.  Read in full