Complaints and legal action against the police

You can refer the issue to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) for a complaint handling review. This is free and independent.

You should do this within 3 months of the date you got the result of your original complaint. 

The PIRC does not investigate the substance of a complaint. The Commissioner's role is to review the way that the complaint was handled by the police. After investigating the complaint, the Commissioner can tell a police body to reconsider the complaint.

You can request a review on the PIRC website.

If you want to complain about how the PIRC has handled the review, such as unreasonable delays, you can use the PIRC internal complaints process. There is information about internal complaints on the PIRC website.

Taking your complaint to the ombudsman

If this does not resolve the issue, you can take the complaint to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). 

If you are not satisfied with the decision of the Police Investigations & Review Commissioner, you might be able to ask for a judicial review.

If you think that a police officer or a police staff member working for Police Scotland has broken the law, you can report this to:

• Police Scotland – check how to make a complaint on the Police Scotland website 

• The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) if the allegation is about a senior police officer – check how to make a complaint on the SPA website. 

The complaint will go through the usual complaints process or be referred to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) if the police officer was on duty at the time of the offence.

If you don’t want to report the criminal complaint to the police directly 

You might not feel comfortable reporting the allegation directly to the police.  

You can report a complaint to the Police and Anti-Corruption and Abuse Reporting Service which is run by Crimestoppers on 0800 085 00 00 or on the Crimestoppers' website. 

If the police officer has broken the law whilst on duty, you can report this directly to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). You can find out how to contact them on the COPFS website. 

Asking for a criminal investigation

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is independent of the police.

A matter involving a police officer whilst on duty will be automatically referred to them. You should receive written confirmation of this.

If you report the matter directly to the COPFS, they will refer it to the Professional Standards Department of Police Scotland for further consideration and investigation. 

A matter involving a police officer whilst off duty will only be passed to the COPFS where appropriate.

Usually, the COPFS will request that a supervisory officer, who is not connected to the complaint, complete an investigation and then provide them with a full report. The complaint also might be passed to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) for an investigation to take place.

Once a matter is referred to them, they might decide:

• not to prosecute - they will refer the case back to the police to decide if the officer should be disciplined

• to report the case to the Crown Office - this is who decides whether to prosecute the police officer. You will be told what the Crown Office decides.

If there is a prosecution, you might have to go to court to give evidence. Find out more about going to court as a witness on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals website.

If you're not happy with how the matter was dealt with by the Procurator Fiscal, or are not happy with their decision, there’s information about how to make a complaint on the COPFS website.

If the COPFS decide not to take action, you can ask for a review of that decision. Read more about the Victims' Right to Review on the COPFS website.

You can:

• complain to Police Scotland

• claim compensation - from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)

• take legal action for damages in court. 

You can start a claim for both compensation and court action for damages. However, if you win damages at court, you will have to repay your compensation to CICA.

Claiming from CICA is simpler than suing the police for damages because you won't have to go to court. However, the court can award more in damages to cover other losses, like damage to your belongings.

Claiming compensation from CICA

If you were injured in an alleged assault by the police, you can apply for compensation from the CICA. 

You don't need to have your complaint against the police upheld before claiming compensation. But your claim will be stronger if your complaint has been investigated and upheld.

Find out more about claiming compensation for violent crimes on GOV.UK.

Taking legal action for damages

You can take court action against the police for damages if a police officer has done something against the law, or failed to do something. However, these cases are rarely successful.

You should get advice from a solicitor. Your legal costs might be more than the amount of damages you would get. You might be eligible for legal aid, but you may have to pay a contribution towards the expenses of the case.

More about help with legal costs and using a solicitor. 

The police must respect your human rights when they carry out their duties.

You might be able to take legal action against the police if your human rights have been breached. More about taking legal action about human rights.

Discrimination 

The police cannot discriminate against you because of a protected characteristic you have, like your age, disability, race or sex.

For example, it's unlawful if:

• an officer treats you less favourably because of your race

• an officer doesn't treat a crime seriously because of your gender or sexual orientation

• the conditions in police custody create unnecessary difficulties for you if you have a disability.

If you have been discriminated against you could:

• complain to Police Scotland

• take legal action - find out more about taking legal action about discrimination.

You can also contact the Equality and Advisory Support Service helpline.