MORE pressure has been piled on Police Scotland after the death of a young woman who lay in a crashed car beside her dead partner for three days following a failure to log the accident.

 

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson yesterday took the unprecedented step of ordering Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) to undertake an urgent review of all police call handling.

It came hours after the death of Lamara Bell, 25, whose partner, 28-year-old John Yuill, was killed. There had been a delay of three days in police initiating checks on their crashed blue Renault Clio by the M9 outside Bannockburn following last Sunday's crash.

There had been calls for a wider review of police operations after reports alleged that the officer who took the call did not know how to use the police computer system properly.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Margaret Mitchell said: "This has been a devastating tragedy, and you can only feel for the families involved.

"The second death in relation to this incident really increases the pressure on Police Scotland and the Scottish Government.

"They both assured the public the 101 number was working well and there was nothing to worry about, despite police officers telling a different story.

"This tragic incident proves that not to be the case."

Labour MSP Graeme Pearson, a former Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, said the incident was an "extremely uncomfortable" situation for all those in authority and should "now finally chime a warning to all of them".

Writing in today's Herald, he added: "The stark and indisputable truth in this case reveals further evidence that police systems, culture and structures are failing to properly support those on the front line across our national police service.

"In the absence of proper management structures, levels of responsibilities, effective IT systems and true accountabilities no organisation can operate a culture designed to demonstrate good policing."

The couple, of Falkirk, had been travelling back from Loch Earn in Stirlingshire when the accident morning on July 5.

However the couple were not found until Wednesday, 72 hours after the incident was first reported. Mr Yuill was pronounced dead at the scene.

The couple had been reported missing on the Monday morning.

The man who made the initial call to report the couple's car off the road was reported as saying he feels guilty for not following up the call himself.

Believed to live in the Stirling area, the man who wishes to remain anonymous said he called the non-emergency 101 number at 11:30am on Sunday July 5 and was told officers would investigate.

Police sent a crew to investigate the crash when a second call was made by someone else three days later.

The initial caller said there was "nothing to suggest they would not take it seriously" and that he assumed the police would check the scene he described as being on the fork with the M9 and M80.

When he saw the car still in the field on Tuesday he thought it was awaiting recovery .

Officers from Police Scotland have visited the man and he has been interviewed by Pirc, it was reported.

Ms Bell's brother confirmed on Facebook that the 25-year-old mother of two had died yesterday, while her father Andrew said in his profile that his "beautiful purple haired girl" had died.

The Yuill family also released a statement saying: "We are devastated by the sad news this morning.The families have messaged each other this morning and our thoughts are with John and Lamara's children at this very sad time."

Ms Bell, who was a mother of two, had been in a medically-induced coma at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Mr Matheson said that it was "essential" that answers were found quickly and offered his sympathies on behalf of the First Minister and Scottish Government.

He said: "Following discussion with the First Minister, I have today directed Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary to undertake a formal investigation and review of call handling and process within Police Scotland's Contact Command and Control Centres.

"I have spoken to the Chief Constable and this review has the full support of Police Scotland.

"This independent review will provide the Scottish Government with an accurate picture of capacity and capability at present, and clearly identify any issues so they can be promptly remedied. "This will assist in providing assurance around the operation of call handling within Police Scotland's Contact Command and Control Centres. On completion the report will be submitted to Ministers who will consider its recommendations.

"This will be a thorough and speedy review that will help to ensure that the people of Scotland can have full confidence in this vital public service."

Asked whether he still has full confidence in Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Stephen House, he told BBC Radio Scotland: "Yes, he still has my confidence."

Mr Matheson added: "I think the Chief Constable has got a number of challenges which he has dealt with since coming into the post, and with the merging of our eight previous legacy forces and creating Police Scotland.

"He has acknowledged that there have been mistakes made over the last couple of years including a mistake made in very recent times with this particular case, and he sought to try and address them, so I think it's important that the focus now has to be on making sure that this type of thing does not occur again and we learn the lessons from that."

However, Scottish Labour Justice spokeswoman Elaine Murray said that Sir Stephen should be considering his position.

She told the radio station: "If I were Stephen House I think I would be considering my position this morning.

"However I think it's important we don't just make a scapegoat of the Chief Constable. This is more than about the management style of one individual, this is about the way in which Police Scotland is operating."

Sir Stephen last week apologised to the relatives of the two crash victims and admitted that police had ''failed both families''.

Chief constable Sir Stephen House said he welcomed the announcement, saying: "In light of recent tragic events, Police Scotland need to be able to reassure the Scottish public that we have both the capacity and the capability to deal with their calls to us, both in an emergency on 999 and in our 101 service.

"It was with this intent I wrote to the Cabinet Secretary to ask that HMICS review our call handling procedures across the country, and offer recommendations if required."

Sir Stephen has already apologised to the relatives, saying police had "failed both families" when the incident was not entered into the electronic system that would have triggered as response.

The Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (pirc) had already launched an separate inquiry and said it would "rigorously pursue" a full investigation as to why the original call was not followed up.

A spokesman said: "The Commissioner will also examine the robustness of Police Scotland's missing person enquiry and look at why that enquiry was not linked with the information received in the call, while examining the police procedures used to log this particular call made from a member of the public."

"Given the early stage of inquiries it is inappropriate to speculate as to what the outcome will be."

Scottish Labour's justice spokeswoman Elaine Murray said Ms Bell's death reinforces the need for an "urgent, full and wide-ranging inquiry" by the Pirc.

"We need to get to the bottom of why it took police more than 72 hours to respond to an emergency call," she said.

The Scottish Police Federation plans to discuss the issues arising from the incident today.