Report Summary
Issued 9 July 2025, this FOI response advises that information on arrests due to safeguarding concerns and related procedures is not held by the Scottish Police Authority. Advice is provided that Police Scotland may hold information.
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Request
Your request for information dated 8 July 2025 is copied below.
I request information relating to your organisation's handling of referrals, inter-agency disclosures, and any procedural or reputational consequences arising between 2010 and 2025 in cases not resulting in professional or criminal action.
- How many individuals were arrested between 2010–2025 in relation to safeguarding concerns where no charge or prosecution followed?
- Of those arrests, how many occurred at public-facing workplaces such as schools, care facilities, or public sector institutions?
- Were officers issued with any internal guidance between 2010–2016 related to reputational risk or public protection strategies (e.g., erring on side of arrest in sensitive professions)?
- Please provide all referral policy documents between 2010 and 2025 that show how safeguarding arrest data was shared with GTCS, Disclosure Scotland, or Care Inspectorate.
- What were the criteria for referring arrest data to other agencies in the absence of charges?
- Have any internal complaints or reviews occurred concerning reputational harm caused by arrests where no charge was ultimately filed?
- What mechanisms exist for an individual to review or challenge the referral or sharing of arrest information when no criminal or regulatory action was taken?
- Has Police Scotland tracked or reported any cases where arrest records resulted in employment or registration consequences despite the case being dropped or unsubstantiated?
- Please provide any memoranda of understanding (MoUs), service-level agreements (SLAs), or informal procedural guidance describing how risk information ishared or followed up between your organisation and the following bodies: Care Inspectorate, Disclosure Scotland, General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).
- Please provide all versions of staff guidance, referral criteria documents, or policy manuals in use from 2012–2024 outlining the thresholds for initiating a safeguarding referral to another agency.
- Please provide any internal risk assessment forms, triage tools, referral decision templates, or standardised checklists used by staff when deciding whether to escalate or refer an individual to another authority.
- Please provide any internal audits, review reports, or risk assessments evaluating the personal or professional impact of referrals that did not result in disciplinary, criminal, or regulatory action between 2015 and 2024.
- Please provide statistical data showing how many individuals referred to your organisation from another safeguarding agency between 2015–2022:
- a) Were not formally investigated
- b) Did not receive a final decision or outcome notification within 6 months
- c) Remained under 'review' or informal risk monitoring without resolution
