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Inquiry to consider closing Aberdeen and Inverness police call centres

A police car near to the site of the crash on junction 9 of the M9 which resulted in the deaths of John Yuill and Lamara Bell
A police car near to the site of the crash on junction 9 of the M9 which resulted in the deaths of John Yuill and Lamara Bell

Plans to close Aberdeen and Inverness police call centres are to be reviewed as part of an inquiry into the M9 crash tragedy.

The probe was ordered by Justice Secretary Michael Matheson after John Yuill and Lamara Bell were found dead near the road three days after the incident was reported to police.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) set out the terms of the investigation yesterday, and it included future plans for call handling.

Call centres in Aberdeen and Inverness are due to close in September and December respectively, but ministers were under fresh pressure last night to halt the move.

HMICS said its inquiry would report at the end of October, with an interim report due at the end of next month.

It added that it would be “thorough, evidence-based” and include visits to all Police Scotland call centres, and examine the “capacity and capability of the systems and the staff available in the control centres to manage, answer and prioritise calls“ to the police.

Lewis Macdonald, north-east Labour MSP, said: “This inquiry has been sparked by the tragic incident involving the deaths of John Yuill and Lamara Bell. It is right that it considers not just the specifics of this case, but the wider question of police control rooms across Scotland.

“The news that HMICS is to examine the proposed closure of Aberdeen police control room and call centre as part of his review is welcome news for the north-east, and for those who have raised concerns about these plans.

“SNP Ministers must now ensure that no further steps are taken that could lead to the closure of the Aberdeen facilities before the final HMICS report is published in October.

“Any such steps would potentially undermine the HMICS inquiry and its conclusions.”

Call handling has come under scrutiny after it emerged that police admitted the incident involving Mr Yuill and Ms Bell was reported to them but they failed to follow it up for 72 hours.

It was reported via a 101 call from a member of the public, but the message was not logged in the system and no action was taken at the time.

The pair were only discovered in the car three days later, on Wednesday July 8, after police received a further call to the scene.