29.04.10
Tayside Police told to apologise for "derogatory comments"
The Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland John McNeill has told Tayside Police to apologise unreservedly for derogatory comments made to an estate owner during an alleged wildlife crime investigation.
The Deputy Chief Constable of Tayside had previously made an apology to the estate owner but the Commissioner did not accept it had gone far enough.
In the same report the Commissioner found that Tayside had handled further complaints around the same issue reasonably and noted as a learning point that forces should provide complainers with regular updates during an investigation and explain the reasons for any delay in their final letter.
The Commissioner said: "When a learning point like this is identified in one force I want to get to a situation where all forces and their police boards and authorities look to see if they could take that learning on board too.
"That's how we will drive up standards in police complaints handling."