Police watchdog in complaints mystery

A top cop facing complaints about his conduct has quit Scotland’s national force to become the head of a police watchdog.

Former Assistant Chief Constable Derek Penman was appointed the £120,000 a year boss of the body for inspecting Police Scotland and its governing body the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) earlier this month.

But The Sunday Post can reveal Penman was still facing two complaints about alleged misconduct when he quit the force to take up the role as Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) for Scotland.

Both complaints date from Penman’s time at the now defunct Central Scotland Police force and it is believed they had been passed to the SPA when the forces merged last year.

The SPA yesterday said it could not discuss any outstanding complaints for confidentiality reasons but it is understood both grievances have now effectively been dropped as Penman is no longer a serving police officer. Penman yesterday said he was “unaware of any ongoing or outstanding investigations or complaints” against him.

The Sunday Post has seen both the original complaints made about him and a letter written by Penman in 2012 discussing the complaints. The complainers, who have asked to remain anonymous, insist they have not received any notice their complaints have either been investigated or concluded.

Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont said: “Some effort should have been made to resolve these outstanding issues before the appointment was made. Simply sweeping them under the carpet would do nothing to inspire confidence in the organisation, nor its ability to be transparent.

“This isn’t the first issue the Scottish Government has had to contend with since the move to a single police force. If it doesn’t get a grip on these matters, the public will rapidly lose faith.”

A total of 17 complaints about Scotland’s top officers were handed to the SPA for investigation when the country’s eight police boards were disbanded last year. The SPA has refused to say if the complaints, which were at various stages of investigation, related to serving or retired officers but last month revealed four of these “legacy” cases have now been closed.

It is thought the bill for the outstanding investigations, many of which have been running for years, could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. The SPA has three members of staff working on the complaints.

Penman yesterday said: “I am unaware of any ongoing or outstanding investigations or complaints against me in relation to this or any other matter.”

The Sunday Post asked the Scottish Government if Penman had made them aware of any complaints which had been made against him when he applied for the top HMICS job. A spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Government ensured that all routine pre-employment checks were carried out and were satisfactory.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Police Authority said: “Complaints are confidential and the SPA does not comment on individual cases. However, if an officer were to leave the force with an outstanding complaint still against them, it would not automatically be dropped from investigation. Each case will be considered and the decision will be dependent on individual circumstances.”