Police Scotland Introduce Lone Officer Verification Checks

Police Scotland is immediately introducing a simple officer verification process to provide reassurance to any member of the public who may be concerned about whether or not they are being spoken to by a genuine police officer working alone.

The move follows the understandable public concern surrounding the horrendous murder of Sarah Everard

On duty officers operating on their own will now proactively offer to carry out a verification check for anyone they come across who appears to be concerned for their safety. A member of the public can also request that a verification check be done.

Although police officers normally work in pairs in Scotland and it is very rare for a lone police officer to approach a member of the public, there are occasions when this could happen.

The new process, introduced on Saturday, 2 October, will allow for the officer’s personal radio to be put on loudspeaker and for an officer or member of police staff in a Police Scotland Control Room to confirm that the officer is who they say they are, that they are on duty and the reason the officer is speaking to the member of the public.

The Control Room will then create an incident number which can be displayed on the officer’s mobile phone or radio to confirm the broadcast message details.

In the even rarer situation where a lone off-duty officer has to become involved in an incident, the officer will call 999 and allow the member of the public to speak to the control room on the phone. Uniformed colleagues will also be dispatched as quickly as possible.