Scottish Criminal Record Office
Encyclopedia
Criminal Justice Information Services is a department of the Scottish Police Services Authority
. Previously called the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO), it established in 1960 with a mission statement “To manage information for the Scottish Police Service, wider Criminal Justice Community and the public to assist in the prevention and detection of crime and enhance public safety." The organisation is based at Pacific Quay
in Glasgow
, under current Director John McLean.
The high-profile Shirley McKie
case has embroiled the SCRO in controversy surrounding its provision of fingerprint
identification and verification services. This controversy lead to the separation in 2001 of these services from local control by each of the eight Scottish police forces (Central Scotland Police
; Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary; Fife Constabulary
; Grampian Police
; Lothian & Borders Police; Northern Constabulary
; Strathclyde Police
; and, Tayside Police
) and to the establishment of the Scottish Fingerprint Service.
Shirley McKie
, a murder squad detective with Strathclyde Police
, as coming from the bathroom door frame inside the house in Kilmarnock
of murder victim, Marion Ross. Three other SCRO experts confirmed this thumb print identification but another five SCRO experts, who were asked to do so, refused. Nonetheless DC McKie, who denied ever having been inside the house, was charged with perjury
. In May 1999 the Scottish High Court of Justiciary
rejected the SCRO fingerprint evidence, and Shirley McKie was unanimously found not guilty of perjury.
HM Inspectors of Constabulary investigated and reported that – despite SCRO's claims – McKie's prints were never at the scene of the murder. In June 2000 the then Justice Minister, Jim Wallace
, and Lord Advocate, Lord Boyd
, apologised in the Scottish parliament to Shirley McKie. A former Deputy Chief Constable of Tayside Police
, James Mackay QPM, and Tayside's head of CID
, Detective Chief Superintendent Scott Robertson, were then appointed by the Crown Office to conduct a further investigation into the issues relating to fingerprint evidence and to report back with their findings. Mackay's interim report on August 3, 2000 suggested that SCRO fingerprint personnel had given evidence in court that was:
According to a Scottish Executive Justice Department internal email written by senior official, Sheena Maclaren:
Marked 'confidential', the final Mackay and Robertson report was submitted to the Crown Office in October 2000. It took more than five years for details of this report to emerge, but The Scotsman
newspaper published extracts from it in February 2006. The report concluded that there was criminal conduct by SCRO employees and that there was sufficient evidence to justify criminal charges. However, the Crown Office told Mackay in September 2001 that no action was to be taken against the SCRO experts. As a result, they were reinstated and employed in the newly-created Scottish Fingerprint Service.
During a civil action in February 2003, brought by Shirley McKie against Stathclyde Police for malicious prosecution, the Lord Advocate Lord Boyd argued that expert witnesses should always be immune from prosecution – even if they gave false evidence.
Scottish Police Services Authority
The Scottish Police Services Authority is a Scottish public body of the Scottish Government responsible for certain central services for police forces in Scotland. It was established on the 1 April 2007, following the passing of the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice Act 2006...
. Previously called the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO), it established in 1960 with a mission statement “To manage information for the Scottish Police Service, wider Criminal Justice Community and the public to assist in the prevention and detection of crime and enhance public safety." The organisation is based at Pacific Quay
Pacific Quay
Pacific Quay is an area south of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. It is located at the former Plantation Quay and Princes' Dock Basin. The Princes' Dock Basin was the largest on the River Clyde when it was opened in 1900. It ceased to be used in the 1970s as the volume of Shipping using the...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, under current Director John McLean.
The high-profile Shirley McKie
Shirley McKie
Shirley McKie is a former Scottish police detective who was accused by fingerprint analysis staff of the Scottish Criminal Record Office of leaving her thumb print on the bathroom door frame of a murder crime-scene in Kilmarnock on 14 January 1997....
case has embroiled the SCRO in controversy surrounding its provision of fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
identification and verification services. This controversy lead to the separation in 2001 of these services from local control by each of the eight Scottish police forces (Central Scotland Police
Central Scotland Police
Central Scotland Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire . The headquarters of the force are at Randolphfield House in Stirling....
; Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary; Fife Constabulary
Fife Constabulary
Fife Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council area of Fife.The area policed by Fife Constabulary has a resident population of just over 350,000, almost a third of whom live in one of the three principal towns of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes...
; Grampian Police
Grampian Police
Grampian Police is the territorial police force of the northeast region of Scotland, covering the council areas of Aberdeenshire, the City of Aberdeen, and Moray . The Force area also covers some of the North Sea, giving Grampian Police the responsibility of policing the oil and gas platforms of...
; Lothian & Borders Police; Northern Constabulary
Northern Constabulary
The Northern Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for Northern Scotland, covering the Highland council area along with the Western Isles, the Orkney Isles and the Shetland Isles, which comprise most of the Highlands and Islands area...
; Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West...
; and, Tayside Police
Tayside Police
Tayside Police is the territorial police force covering the Scottish council areas of Angus, City of Dundee and Perth and Kinross . The total area covered by the force is with a population of 388,000....
) and to the establishment of the Scottish Fingerprint Service.
Fingerprint controversy
In January 1997 an expert from the SCRO identified the left thumb print of DCConstable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
Shirley McKie
Shirley McKie
Shirley McKie is a former Scottish police detective who was accused by fingerprint analysis staff of the Scottish Criminal Record Office of leaving her thumb print on the bathroom door frame of a murder crime-scene in Kilmarnock on 14 January 1997....
, a murder squad detective with Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West...
, as coming from the bathroom door frame inside the house in Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
of murder victim, Marion Ross. Three other SCRO experts confirmed this thumb print identification but another five SCRO experts, who were asked to do so, refused. Nonetheless DC McKie, who denied ever having been inside the house, was charged with perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
. In May 1999 the Scottish High Court of Justiciary
High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House, or in the former Sheriff Court building, in Edinburgh, but also sits from time...
rejected the SCRO fingerprint evidence, and Shirley McKie was unanimously found not guilty of perjury.
HM Inspectors of Constabulary investigated and reported that – despite SCRO's claims – McKie's prints were never at the scene of the murder. In June 2000 the then Justice Minister, Jim Wallace
Jim Wallace
The Rt. Hon. James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, PC, QC , is a British politician, currently a life peer in the House of Lords and the Advocate General for Scotland...
, and Lord Advocate, Lord Boyd
Colin Boyd, Baron Boyd of Duncansby
Colin Boyd, Baron Boyd of Duncansby, PC, QC, was Lord Advocate for Scotland from 24 February 2000 until his resignation on 4 October 2006. On 11 April 2006, Downing Street announced that Colin Boyd would take a seat as a crossbench life peer; however he took the Labour whip after resigning as...
, apologised in the Scottish parliament to Shirley McKie. A former Deputy Chief Constable of Tayside Police
Tayside Police
Tayside Police is the territorial police force covering the Scottish council areas of Angus, City of Dundee and Perth and Kinross . The total area covered by the force is with a population of 388,000....
, James Mackay QPM, and Tayside's head of CID
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
, Detective Chief Superintendent Scott Robertson, were then appointed by the Crown Office to conduct a further investigation into the issues relating to fingerprint evidence and to report back with their findings. Mackay's interim report on August 3, 2000 suggested that SCRO fingerprint personnel had given evidence in court that was:
- "so significantly distorted that without further explanation, the SCRO identification likely amounts to collective manipulation and collective collusion."
According to a Scottish Executive Justice Department internal email written by senior official, Sheena Maclaren:
- "Mr W Rae, then president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and chairman of SCRO's executive committee, decided that given all the circumstances, all Chief Constables concluded that there was no alternative but to 'precautionary suspend' the four SCRO personnel. This was done on August 3 by the Director of SCRO." Government ministers were informed of the decision to suspend the four fingerprint experts who had wrongly identified a thumb print as PC Shirley McKie's.
Marked 'confidential', the final Mackay and Robertson report was submitted to the Crown Office in October 2000. It took more than five years for details of this report to emerge, but The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
newspaper published extracts from it in February 2006. The report concluded that there was criminal conduct by SCRO employees and that there was sufficient evidence to justify criminal charges. However, the Crown Office told Mackay in September 2001 that no action was to be taken against the SCRO experts. As a result, they were reinstated and employed in the newly-created Scottish Fingerprint Service.
During a civil action in February 2003, brought by Shirley McKie against Stathclyde Police for malicious prosecution, the Lord Advocate Lord Boyd argued that expert witnesses should always be immune from prosecution – even if they gave false evidence.