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Find out how to request a review of the way your complaint was handled, and the possible outcomes of a review.

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Complain to the police

If you are unhappy about your interactions with a policing body, you must first contact them directly to log a formal complaint.

Click here for contact details of the police bodies that operate in Scotland.

Work with the police to resolve the complaint

We hope the policing body can sort out any issues you have and deal with your complaint in a positive way. They will confirm their findings in a Final Response letter.

  • PIRC to review how it was handled
  • PIRC to review how it was handled

The last paragraph of this letter should signpost you to the PIRC for a Complaint Handling Review if you remain dissatisfied.

Unhappy with the way your complaint was handled?

If, at the end of the police complaint process, you are unhappy with how the policing body dealt with your complaint, you can ask PIRC to review how it was handled.

  1. PIRC to review how it was handled
  2. PIRC to review how it was handled

This should be within 3 months of the date recorded on your Final Response letter.
Remember, we cannot reinvestigate the original complaint itself.

Complete our checklist and start the Complaint Handling Review process

First, use our handy checklist to see if you are ready to request a Complaint Handling Review. If we think we may be able to help you, we will ask you to complete the online form.

Next steps

Once the form is submitted, we will consider the facts of your case and review all the information provided by you and the policing body.

We will then decide whether or not the complaint was handled to a reasonable standard.

Where we think it is appropriate, we will make recommendations, give reconsideration directions, and identify learning points for the police.

Our recommendations should be implemented by the policing body within two months of the date of our report.

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We independently investigate incidents involving policing bodies in Scotland.

hese can include incidents such as serious injuries or death following police contact, allegations of criminality by on-duty officers and senior officer misconduct cases.

More about Investigations

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We independently review the way in which policing bodies in Scotland handle complaints made about them by members of the public.

Find out how to request a review of the way your complaint was handled, and the possible outcomes of a review.

Get to know us better

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We independently review the way in which policing bodies in Scotland handle complaints made about them by members of the public.

Find out how to request a review of the way your complaint was handled, and the possible outcomes of a review.

Get to know us better

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Find out how we support members of the public who are involved in our investigations, read some real life examples of our work and how our conclusions are making a difference.

More about Investigations

How we can help

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How we can help

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Latest News

PIRC recommendations following police use of firearms to dispatch injured animal

28 Apr 2025

Police Scotland advised to set out protocol for the safe management of injured animals.

Read full article

PIRC makes recommendations to Police Scotland after firearms used to dispatch XL Bully dogs to protect officers and members of the public

19 Mar 2025

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) found grounds for improvement after investigating police use of firearms to dispatch two XL Bully dogs.

Read full article

New Police Investigations and Review Commissioner announced

23 Jan 2025

The Scottish Government has today announced that Laura Paton has been appointed as the next Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.

Read full article
See all news

What you can expect from us

What we can help with

  • Review how your complaint was handled by any of the policing bodies operating in Scotland
  • In all cases, we look for learning opportunities for the police so that their standard of complaint handling can be improved in future

What we cannot help with

  • A complaint that has not previously been made to the police
  • We cannot recommend that an officer is subject to a conduct or disciplinary action
  • A criminal allegation about a police officer or civilian member of staff
  • Complaints from individuals about the terms and conditions of their service with the police

Common questions about the Complaint Handling Review

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Please do not include any personal information, for example information about a complaint or investigation you are involved in. If you would like to share any important information with us, please visit our Contact us page to find out how to get in touch.