Police Complaint update: 19/20 May 2014

I have copied below the exchange of emails which took place yesterday and today with some personal details redacted - please read from the bottom:

Dear Sergeant Brown

 

What I hope to achieve from the process is to find out the following:

 

1. Who made the decision to have us followed and why.
2. Who made the decision to issue us with a Section 12 Notice and why.
3. Whether or not any third party external to the PSS contributed to this decision.

 

I hope to receive a full explanation and as a resolution I would like someone to acknowledge that the policing of our group was excessive, intimidating, unnecessary and will not be repeated in similar circumstances.

 

Yours sincerely

 

JF

 

 

 

 

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Many thanks Jeanette and I will keep you updated throughout.

The one point, I forgot to address with you on the phone yesterday is to capture your expectations with our complaints process.

When completing any Complaint About The Police, I feel it of benefit to ascertain from the individual who lodges complaint, what they hope to come from the complaints process or what they believe a suitable resolution would be.

Therefore, if possible could you be please respond by email as to your thoughts on this point please.

Kind Regards

Andy Brown

Sergeant 8664
Aberdeen City Division Service Delivery Unit  
'

Dear Sergeant Brown

The names of the three people who wish to make this complaint are as follows:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

1. Both Ms xxxxxxx and Mr xxxxxx are happy to be contacted by telephone but Mr xxxxxx would prefer not to speak on the phone.  He would be happy, however, to provide a written statement if you wish.  Please let me know.
2. Ms xxxxxxxxx will provide the registration mark of the car which followed us as she noted it down at the time.
3. I can confirm that the email exchange in the days leading up to the event was with Inspector Doug Rae.   I had a phone conversation on the Friday and Saturday with another officer whose name I cannot recall.  Inspector Rae had previously asked for my permission to pass my contact number on to the other officer, so he will be able to confirm that officer’s name.
4. The name of the local man who has also lodged a complaint is xxxxxxxxxx

I hope that this is sufficient and I look forward to hearing from you further.

Yours sincerely

 JF

RESTRICTED - INVESTIGATIONS

Dear Ms Findlay,

Please see below my contact details.  The telephone number if required, is a direct dial and whilst I have an answer machine, you can also get a message to myself on the 101 number - whichever is most convenient for you.

I have discovered, after our earlier telephone conversation, that you sent an email to Police Scotland querying when someone would be in touch.  I was not aware of this when we spoke and I apologise for this delay, albeit as explained on the phone, the Complaint took some time to end up with myself.  Now that we have spoken and I have provided you my own contact details, I will ensure I keep you updated throughout my enquiries and the Complaint process.

At any stage if you require to discuss anything, please feel free to make contact direct with me and I will do my best to answer any query you may have.

Following on from out telephone conversation of this morning, if you could please provide me with the following information which will assist the enquiry into your complaint -

1.    The registration mark of the unmarked Police vehicle which followed your bus.

2.    The names of the other individuals who wish to make complaint and confirmation they are happy for me to make contact with each of them.

3.    Confirmation that the Officer you had contact with in the days previous to the protest was an Inspector Doug Rae ?

4.    The surname of the local male, who has complained regarding the manner in which he was dealt with whilst driving home from the event.

I look forward to hearing from you in due course

Regards

Andy Brown

Sergeant 8664
Aberdeen City Division Service Delivery Unit 

Police complaint update: 19/5/14

Glasgow complaint

This morning I was contacted by telephone by a Sgt Brown from Aberdeen City Police division of the Police Service of Scotland.  He explained that the delay in responding to my complaint had arisen because there had been some discussion around which division would deal with it - Glasgow or Aberdeen.  It had now reached his desk and he would make the initial investigations.  He outlined the process but indicated that, in this case, it might be slightly different, since, to paraphrase him, the decisions in this case had clearly been made by senior officers and complaints have to be assessed by someone at least one rank above the officer in question so he was not sure where that would go.  I resisted the temptation to ask him who was one rank above Stephen House....

Anyway, he took all the details of the complaint, most of which he had, and clarified some issues with me.  I remembered some details while I spoke to him such as the fact that we had been filmed by police officers from inside the building and I advised him that three other protesters wished to complain along with me.

He indicated that he did not think that Aberdeen police would have asked for our bus to be followed and, as an aside, said he thought it this was surveillance, they hadn't made a very good job of it since we had spotted them!

He agreed to email me so that I could reply giving some additional details and, when asked, said that their timescale for responding is 56 days but that he would try to complete his investigations sooner.

Complaint to Aberdeen police re SNP Protest

This is the account of a FAC supporter who was stopped by the police on his way home from the protest and who has lodged a formal complaint:  this will be referred to hereafter as the Aberdeen complaint to distinguish it from the complaint lodged in Glasgow

I attended the local police headquarters to formally make a complaint about the "routine" stop and how the officer spoke to me .My friend who is studying law came with me to advise and to witness the complaint and took notes during the meeting.

The inspector took down my full complaint in writing and I signed it.  He also read the information my witness had made and signed to verify it was a true and accurate record.

I was then informed he would investigate the complaint and get back to me in due course with his findings.  He also said the complaint may well be passed to a independent board for consideration.

I allowed 21 days to pass as thought was fair amount of time to allow police to do what needed and I then contacted them for a update.  I was told the "officer who is dealing with it is on holiday " I asked if anyone else could deal with it and asked when the officer was due back as I'd like a update

 I was told only he can deal with the complaint and that it was not 'information you require' regarding a officers annual leave!  At that point I thanked him and left.

I am very unsatisfied by how whole thing has been handled and I'm going to take further legal advice on this matter.  I will,  of course, keep you updated as things progress

I would like to thank all those involved with Fans Against Criminalisation & Celtic Trust for their continued support also to everyone else who sent messages of support

We must stand as one until the Offensive Behaviour Act is scrapped and this needs to be done immediately.

We are Fans not Criminals

Police complaint update: Saturday 17th May 2014

Oh Police Service of Scotland, you never write, you never call!

There are now three of us waiting to make this complaint and today I sent this email to the Professional Standards Department who kindly wrote to me 10 days ago telling me they would 'contact me in the near future'.

Dear Madam/Sir

 

I received this email on 7th May having made my initial complaint on Friday 2nd May.  It is now, as you will no doubt be aware, Saturday 17th May.  When you say ‘near future’ as you do in your email detailed below, do you intend to imply days, weeks or months?  Most public bodies publish the timescales within which complaints will be dealt with (and this is monitored by the Public Services Ombudsman); does the Police Service of Scotland have published timescales for dealing with complaints?

 

Very best wishes and looking forward to hearing from you soon.

 

 

ps  When I say I am looking forward to hearing from you soon, I mean by telephone or email.  I am not looking forward to you turning up at my door for a chat so please don’t.

Police Complaint update: Wednesday 14th May

For all those who have been sitting biting your fingernails and pacing up and down for the next instalment, here it is:












Did you see what I did there.  No response from the Police Service of Scotland despite the fact that a week ago today I was told I would be contacted 'shortly'.  Has anyone got any ideas how long shortly is?

Police complaint update: Wednesday 7th May pm!

Glasgow Complaint:

At 16.20 and again at 16.23 I received the following email with attachment:

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

COMPLAINT ABOUT THE POLICE

I refer to your recent contact with Police Scotland.

Your complaint has been recorded and the officer appointed to investigate your complaint may contact you in the near future to discuss your concerns in greater detail.

Since many members of the public may be unaware of the formal procedure followed when a complaint is made about the police, please find attached a self explanatory leaflet which fully explains this process.

Professional Standards Department
Police Scotland
PO Box 21184
Alloa
FK10 9DE
Tel 0141 532 25490141 532 2549 (alternatively dial 101)
Fax No. 0141 532 2329
www.scotland.police.uk/ 

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Police Complaint update: Wednesday 7th May 2014

For future reference I will distinguish between the two ongoing complaints by calling one the Glasgow complaint (since the events complained of, began there) and the other, the Aberdeen complaint (since the events complained of took place entirely in Aberdeen).

Glasgow Complaint

Since no acknowledgement has been received from the Police Service of Scotland for 5 days (albeit including a weekend and bank holiday), I sent the following message at 8.45 on 7/5/14 via their online message system:

I submitted a complaint on Friday 2nd May via this online form system.  I have not received an acknowledgement of receipt.  Could you please acknowledge that you have received my complaint and are in the process of dealing with it.

At 9.01 I received the following:

Good Morning,

 

Apologises for the delay in Police Scotland responding to your complaint. We have re-contacted the relevant department who advise will be in contact in due course.

 

Regards

 

Contact Us

 

And so it goes on.......

Update Tuesday 6th May 2014: Progress (or lack of) of FAC complaints re Aberdeen

The complaint re surveillance and the public order act was submitted online on Friday.  It is now lunchtime on Tuesday (Monday was a bank holiday) and no response or acknowledgement has been received.

Here is the detail of the complaint lodged in Aberdeen which will also be updated here:


On Monday 14th April I made an official complaint regarding being "routinely stopped" by police Scotland on way home after being at the recent Fans Against Criminalisation protest at the SNP conference in Aberdeen. I attended the local police head quarters to formally make a complaint about the "routine" stop and how the officer spoke to me. My friend who is studying law came with me to advise and witness the complaint whilst writing down what was said during complaint.
The inspector took down my full complaint in writing and I signed it. He also read the information my witness had made and signed to verify they are true and accurate. I was informed that he would investigate the complaint and get back to me in due course with his findings. He also indicated that the complaint may well be passed to a independent board for consideration. I allowed 21 days to pass as thought was fair amount of time to allow police to do what needed and contacted them for a update. I was told the "officer who is dealing with it is on holiday". I asked if anyone else could deal with it and also asked when the officer is due back as I'd like a update.
I was told only the Inspector can deal with the complaint and that he could not give me information regarding a officers' annual leave. At that point I thanked him and left.
I am very unsatisfied by how whole thing has been handled and going to take further legal advice on this matter
I will, of course, keep you updated as things progress. I'd like to thank all those involved with Fans Against Criminalisation & Celtic Trust for continued support also to everyone else who sent messages of support. We must stand as one until the Offensive Behaviour Act is scrapped and that needs to be done immediately!

FAC goes to SNP conference, gets intimidated and one FACer complains to the Police Service of Scotland!

Following the events of 12th April which are detailed in an earlier post, I have decided, with the backing of FAC, to formally complain to the Police Service of Scotland about what happened to us that day.  I have also written to my MSP to complain and I would encourage others who were there that day to do likewise.  One of the local supporters has also complained formally about his treatment that day and we hope to bring you updates about the resolution of that complaint.

We also thought it would be useful to post updates of the process so that people who are considering complaining to the Police can see how the process works and hopefully encourage people to make complaints and keep the system as clean as it possibly can be.

There are a number of ways you can go about this and they are detailed in a helpful booklet produced by the Police themselves and which can be found at:

http://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/138327/147514/complaints-about-the-police-guide?view=Standard

I decided to make my initial contact through the following Contact link on the PSS site:

http://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/138327/147514/complaints-about-the-police-guide?view=Standard

I gave them the details they needed and typed in the substance of my complaint, which was:

I would like to lodge a complaint against the PSS for the following reason:

1.  A coach departing from George Square, Glasgow and collecting other passengers on Edinburgh Road, Baillieston on which I was travelling on 12th April 2014 which was bound for Aberdeen to protest outside of the SNP Spring Conference was subject to surveillance by an unmarked police car for no good reason.  This was intimidating, unnecessary and a breach of my right of assembly.

2.  On arrival in Aberdeen I, and the other 18 members of our protest group, were issued with a Section 12 Notice under the Public Order Act.  This was unwarranted, disproportionate, intimidating, excessive, unnecessary and a breach of my right of assembly and an attempt to prevent us from excercising our rights to peacefully protest.  This action also potentially led to a slur on my character as onlookers could reasonably think that I was a threat to public order when that is not the case and there is no evidence to suggest that it is the case.

3.  A police car positioned itself directly in front of our coach as we left the conference area and the officer stated that he had been given instructions to escort us out of the city of Aberdeen.  Despite our objection, the car did escort us for a short distance.  This was unwarranted, intimidating, unnecessary, a waste of public resources, and an attempt to further intimidate me (and others) and discourage us from exercising our right of peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and freedom to protest peacefully.

I pressed Send and I now await a response.  I will keep you posted on this blog!