Police told to apologise in boy row

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Strathclyde Police has been criticised by Scotland's Police Complaints Commissioner for flouting child detention laws by holding the youngster for 59 hours.

Officers also failed to contact the boy's parents quickly enough, according to an official report published today.

Commissioner Jim Martin said the force, which is Scotland's largest, should apologise to the child and his mother for what he describes as a "systemic failure" in relation to child detention rules. Mr Martin said: "It is of significant concern that in considering the overall complaint Strathclyde Police failed to identify and take steps to correct what appears to be a systemic failure in relation to the detention in custody of children.

"It is clear to me that various Strathclyde Police officers of various levels of seniority, were operating with an incorrect understanding of the force's Standard Operating Procedure relating to the detention in custody of children. The issues arising from this complaint provide a broader learning opportunity which Strathclyde Police should embrace."

The Commissioner said his findings would be referred to Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary who is conducting a review of the detention of children in custody.

The boy's mother raised 16 complaints about his detention from Saturday September 2 to Monday September 4 last year, the Commissioner's report said.

Two complaints were upheld and Strathclyde Police has been asked to provide written responses to five others, including a claim involving the removal of the child's trousers.

The Commissioner ruled that the child should not have been held in custody for 59 hours as he did not fit the detention criteria under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 or Strathclyde Police's Standard Operating Procedure. The Commissioner also upheld the complaint that police failed to contact the boy's parents "within a reasonable time period".

Two complaints involved allegations of criminal offences that have been considered by the local procurator fiscal, he added.