THE police have a difficult job. They must expect the unexpected. However, over time, procedures have been developed and, when these are not followed, the force can legitimately find itself accused of failure, an accusation made more stark where loss of life occurs.

In December 2016, John Penman died in his van from carbon monoxide poisoning. Members of the public twice alerted police about the vehicle. No action was taken. On the third day, another call about a separate vehicle led to officers investigating, whereupon they found Mr Penman’s van – and his body.

Area Control graded the first two reports priority 4, requiring officers attend. None did. The third call, graded priority 2, required a response within 15 minutes. Four hours elapsed.

Vehicles are abandoned frequently but, as the report by the Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (Pirc) notes, procedure dictates reporting these to the local authority. Furthermore, having established the vehicle’s owner, no attempt was made to contact him.

Earlier police attention might not have saved Mr Penman’s life. But, following other cases, notably the deaths of Lamara Bell and John Yuill on the M9 in 2015, this does not reflect well on Police Scotland. Police officers are required to follow procedures. On this occasion, they did not. In future, they must – at all times.