POLICE Scotland have issued an apology after being rapped in a watchdog probe over officers' failure to discover a man's body in his own house a month after he went missing.
The country’s single force has been told by the Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (PIRC) that a specialist search team had added to the uncertainty and distress of 64-year-old Arnold Mouat's family over a failure to carry out a "full and systematic" search of his home in Bo'ness in July, last year.
The case was in a list of blunders which Scottish Conservatives warned last year had led to Police Scotland losing public confidence.
A report published today reveals a Police Scotland building search report recorded that the search of Mr Mouat’s house, gardens, vehicle and garage was completed in 40 minutes and that a search of the garage and gardens was completed within five minutes.
Police Scotland continued their enquiries to trace Mr Mouat until his body was found by a relative, a month after he was reported missing, in the loft area of his garage.
He had committed suicide through asphyxiation and a post mortem examination carried out by pathologists, said that Mr Mouat had been dead for some time.
READ MORE: Public losing faith in Police Scotland after "series of blunders"
PIRC said that given the "relatively short time" taken to complete the search it was considered that the search team did not carry out a full search of Mr Mouat's home.
"Had they done so, it is highly likely that they would have discovered Mr Mouat's body," a PIRC report said.
An internal review of the incident by Police Scotland acknowledged that a more extensive search should have been carried out and procedures have since been reviewed and officers reminded of the processes to follow during missing persons searches.
The police review of the conduct of the search concluded that, “crucially the search in the area of the garage cannot have been deemed to have been thorough and systematic" and that "all indications are that he was within the garage from day one".
Officers with a specialist police search team were placed on restricted duties after failing to find the body during two separate visits.
READ MORE: Police team tasked with searching for Arnold Mouat placed on restricted duties
Chief Superintendent Matt Richards of Police Scotland said: "I apologise on behalf of Police Scotland and once again offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Arnold Mouat.
" I fully accept the findings from the review by the PIRC and Police Scotland will continue to work with them to ensure all the lessons identified are addressed and built into our search procedures and protocols, much of which is already in place."
A statement on behalf of Mr Mouat’s family said: “The past eight months have been incredibly difficult for our family as we have tried to come to terms with the loss of a loving father and husband.
“We are aware of the PIRC report and note that a number of recommendations have been made. Going forward we hope that Police Scotland will look carefully at these recommendations and that valuable lessons have been learned.
READ MORE: Inquiry after body of man missing for four weeks found at his home
“As a family, we are grateful for the support we have received but we would now ask for our privacy to be respected to allow us to come to terms with our loss in peace.”
PIRC recommended a shake up of Police Scotland's procedures, and called for the National Search Oversight Group (SOG) to regularly review missing person inquiries "to ensure they are being undertaken in accordance with national guidelines".
Commissioner Kate Frame said: “Clearly, if the police had carried out a thorough search of the garage area, then it is highly likely that they would have discovered Mr Mouat’s body, something acknowledged by Police Scotland’s own internal review.
“In light of this case, I have made several recommendations which I have shared with the Deputy Chief Constable to enable him to put measures in place and take corrective action to prevent such failings happening again.”
The PIRC investigation also found items of evidence which were seized during the search were not recorded or documented on the building search report as required by Police Scotland’s own procedures.
Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said in the wake of the discovery of Mr Mouat's body that it appeared to be another instance of the force “losing its touch locally”, citing a “series of blunders” since its creation in 2013.
In 2015, Lamara Bell, 25, and her boyfriend John Yuill, 28, died after their car left the M9 and officers failed to respond to a report of the crash for three days.
Ms Bell was found alive but died four days later in hospital.
In August, last year, it emerged a call-handler in Glasgow didn’t know where the A90 was after receiving a call from a pensioner in Aberdeenshire, and in April officers were sent to investigate a crime in Glasgow which had actually occurred in Aberdeen.
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