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He was not informed why he was put on restricted duties. Is that normal, and is it acceptable?

One of the committee’s witnesses said that he was put on restricted duties and told that he was a danger to the public, and the case ended up going all the way through to prosecution. There were 900 days between the day it started and the day it finished.

It sounded in the earlier evidence as if there had been better communication, so thank you.

Good morning. From your comments so far and the evidence, it seems that communication with the police has improved a wee bit. Sections 9 to 16 of the bill relate to functions of the PIRC. The Scottish Parliament information centre briefing says that those sections

“provide the PIRC with additional powers, including extra functions in the complaint handling review process; being able to call in complaints, review practices and policies”

of Police Scotland and the SPA.

Last week, we heard evidence from the Scottish Police Federation. David Kennedy said:

“My point is that the current regulations are not used as they should be. That is why we say that the bill is not needed if they are used properly. When the misconduct regulations were released, we also had the performance regulations. They have never been used.”—[Official Report, Criminal Justice Committee, 8 May 2024; c 31.]

Are you finding that in your communication with Police Scotland when you do your investigations? Are there regulations or policies and procedures that are not being used? Have you come across that?

Can I ask another quick question, convener?

Fifty-six days is quite a long time. When you get the initial report, would you not expect to get a statement from the person that has been accused of the crime so that you can get their version of events?

Should access to the list be limited?

My question follows on from the questions that you have already been asked. I am interested in timescales. You said that there is sometimes, when an allegation about police officers comes to you, already evidence that the allegation might be malicious, so they are put to you straight away. What is the timescale for, for example, getting evidence on a complaint from somebody who has been arrested and said that excessive force has been used? Such complaints come straight to you, but what is the timescale for getting evidence?

Right. I know that we have to hold the police to a higher standard, but do you think that the police being obliged to report to your department once a complaint of criminality is made, regardless of whether there is sufficient evidence, is an effective system?

Does that mean that the person who I spoke about who was not told why he was being put on restricted duties should really have been told why at the time and a statement should have been taken?