Ben Riley-Smith
SCOTLAND’S new single police force is under pressure to publish hidden payments to victims of wrongful arrest after MSPs demanded action.
They urged the new body to come clean about the public money being paid out in response to complaints of police errors, by regularly publishing all future compensation payouts.
The Sunday Herald has had to use Freedom of Information legislation to establish that £70,000 was paid by police in 34 successful claims of wrongful arrest between 2008 and 2012. These payments are never normally disclosed and crucial details of the cases remain secret.
Margo Macdonald, Independent MSP for Lothians, said: “It would be an excellent statement of intention and a defining statement as regards the attitude of the new single force if it said it would consider regularly publishing all compensation payments.
“The important thing is it is open and accessible to the general public. That way we’ll see how much money is involved, what sort of wrongful arrest it was and what sort of misdemeanours were committed.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Alison McInnes MSP said: “Even though the number of claims for wrongful arrest remains relatively small, I would like to see the figures published regularly as a matter of course. Having anonymised information on the circumstances, each wrongful arrest made public would serve as a helpful tool to identify any repeated failings.”
On Monday the country’s eight previous police forces became a single body, Police Scotland, in what some have called the biggest change in Scottish policing in living memory and the most significant public service reform since devolution.
On the eve of the new force’s launch, Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow and justice spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, said: “Transparency in the operation of our police service is of paramount importance.
“By being clear about mistakes we can have confidence that efforts will be made to prevent such errors.
“It is important we are able to hold our police service to account and I would urge the new single force to consider what measures could be introduced to maintain public trust.”