Police Scotland slammed over fingerprint failures

Published: 10 March 2026 The English Chronicle Desk The English Chronicle Online — Scotland News

Police Scotland has come under fire after a watchdog report revealed that thousands of suspects are not being fingerprinted each year, including individuals arrested for serious crimes. The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, Dr Brian Plastow, found that more than 12,000 accused men and women went through custody in a single year without their prints being taken or stored.

The report concluded that the force’s policy of only fingerprinting suspects once they are formally charged is “unacceptable” and poses a significant risk to investigations. In one three‑month period alone, 3,202 officially accused persons were arrested but not fingerprinted.

Dr Plastow warned: “Fingerprinting an arrested person is a critical step in the criminal justice process, providing strong physical evidence of identity that ties suspects to crime scenes. Not fingerprinting someone results in lost investigative opportunities, both now and in the future.”

The report also raised alarm over instances where staff within Police Scotland’s Criminal Justice Services Division allegedly carried out “bulk deletions” of fingerprint records before identification experts had examined them. Dr Plastow said such deletions were not authorised practice and could derail investigations or even prevent suspects from being cleared.

The Commissioner has urged Police Scotland to adopt a “take all” policy, requiring fingerprints and photographs to be taken from every adult arrested for any offence. He also criticised Scotland’s lack of a national biometrics strategy, noting that forces in England and Wales already use mobile fingerprint technology to identify suspects in under a minute.

The report made 10 recommendations for improvement, including investment in new technology and stricter safeguards against unauthorised deletions.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said the force takes the findings seriously and will consider the recommendations. They added: “We capture a wide range of data and information, including fingerprints. On some occasions it may not be possible to obtain fingerprint data due to an individual being in hospital or non‑compliant, making it unsafe to do so.”

The spokesperson insisted that improvements to custody processes are already underway.

The revelations have sparked criticism from politicians and campaigners, who argue that failing to fingerprint suspects undermines public safety and risks letting criminals slip through the net. Victims’ groups warned that lost evidence could deny justice to those affected by serious crimes.

Opposition MSPs have demanded urgent action, calling the failures “a scandal” and pressing the Scottish Government to fund modern biometric systems.

With fingerprints having been used in Scotland for more than 120 years, the report’s findings highlight a worrying gap in modern policing practices. Unless reforms are implemented, critics warn that Scotland risks falling behind the rest of the UK in forensic standards — and jeopardising the integrity of its criminal justice system.

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