Mcleod family back plans to stop police officers resigning to avoid disciplinary proceedings
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THE family of a Caithness man, whose body was found in Wick harbour 26 years ago, has backed Scottish Government plans to stop police officers resigning to avoid disciplinary proceedings.
Hugh and June Mcleod, the parents of 24-year-old Kevin Mcleod who died after a night out in the town in February, 1997, and his uncle Allan Mcleod have given their support to the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill. It has been introduced to Parliament with the aim of ensuring allegations of misconduct are dealt with more transparently and effectively.
If passed by MSPs, the legislation would see the outcomes of misconduct hearings published online and police officers no longer able to resign to avoid disciplinary action.
Allan Mcleod, speaking on behalf of the family, said they have been calling for the changes for the past 20 years and pointed out that a senior officers in the then Northern Constabulary and one in Police Scotland retired or resigned to avoid disciplinary proceedings and accusations of gross misconduct, leaving the Mcleod family "in the dark."
He said: "In 2019, we met in Inverness with former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini who was then conducting an independent review of complaint handling, misconduct and investigations, and informed her of our experience and of how we had been treated by the police, and that the issue of police officers retiring while under investigation was totally unacceptable, unfair and has to change. I believe that the public has no trust or faith whatsoever in the current police complaints system.
"Hopefully, this proposed legislation will be passed without further delay to ensure that police officers are still held accountable for their actions even if they resign from the force as the current procedure makes a complete mockery of the system and clearly makes the police a law unto themselves.
"To see this legislation implemented will be a victory for us. We need to see police justice done so that no other family in Scotland suffers like we have. This proposed legislation would be in line with police rules in England and Wales where proceedings continue even if the officer leaves their post."
