PIRC facing increased demand to deliver best possible service to the public
Scotland’s policing commissioner says her ability to deliver swift outcomes for communities is being put at risk by increasing demand on her workforce.
Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC), Laura Paton, says targets have been met but that the number of investigations carried out since 2013 has steadily risen by 375 per cent.
A change in the law of corroboration earlier this year also resulted in a caseload spike – and another is expected due to a police complaints backlog; meanwhile, PIRC awaits new legislation which will expand its powers even further.
Writing in her 2024/25 Annual Report, Ms Paton said: “We often cannot speak publicly about the detail of the cases we investigate and the complaints we review.
“But we are often providing a service to people in the most difficult circumstances – those who have lost a loved one, have been the victim of a crime or feel they have been failed by the police.”
“My concern,” she added “is that additional pressure on PIRC’s finite resources risks compromising the service we provide to the public, referring agencies and stakeholders.
“While my staff are working hard to preserve our quality of service, these increases in workload are simply beyond our current capacity. It is inevitable that our ability to deliver investigations and reviews within reasonable timescales will decline.”
PIRC currently has 97 staff including 57 investigators and 13 complaint handlers. It oversees Police Scotland and holds the same responsibility for all other policing bodies operating in Scotland such as the British Transport Police (BTP) and National Crime Agency (NCA).
PIRC has carried out several protracted and complex investigations since launching in 2013 and continues to be represented at the Public Inquiry into the events surrounding the death of Sheku Bayoh.
The 2024/25 Annual Report shows that PIRC has met all annual targets such as carrying out Category A investigations within 90 working days. These are more serious incidents that can involve a death with reports then sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) for consideration.
Over the course of the year, PIRC has also delivered an Equality Strategy and contributed to the Scottish Parliament’s consideration of the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill.
However, the latest annual report sets out the emerging challenges such as:
- A 263% rise in referrals for investigation since 2013, and a 375% rise in the number of investigations taken forward.
- A 22% drop in requests to review police complaints since 2013, but a 68% increase in the number of individual complaint allegations.
- A 239% increase in investigations as a result of the ruling by the Court of Appeal in late 2024 which clarified the law on corroboration.
- A projected 250% increase in applications for complaint handling reviews from members of the public as Police Scotland addresses a significant backlog of complaints.
Implementation of the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025 will expand PIRC’s role and further increase service demand.
PIRC is working to meet the rises, but Ms Paton says: “We are aware and alive to the current financial pressures in the public sector but without additional resource, it is unlikely that we will continue to deliver the level of service that the public and others rightly expect.”
The organisation is now carrying out a Strategic Review. Ms Paton said: “This will identify the major changes in our strategic landscape and help assess how we can fulfil our statutory duties and provide an effective service to the public while safeguarding the wellbeing of our staff.
“It is a significant undertaking, but necessary. It will set our strategic vision so that we continue to provide robust oversight of policing – and support improvements in the service to the public.”