5.6 COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGE OR LOSS TO PERSONAL EFFECTS

SHHD Police Circular 1/1982

(a) Before making such a claim, officers should first attempt to receive compensation through the courts via a Compensation Order as is outlined in sections 249 to 253 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

(b) If appropriate compensation is not received via a compensation order then an officer whose personal effects have been lost or damaged whilst in their possession, through no fault of their own, may make a claim to be compensated for the value of the item at the time of the damage or loss, not the cost of the replacement.

(c) Claims for compensation in respect of personal property (i.e. clothing and other personal belongings) will not be accepted unless the following conditions are satisfied:

• The claimant must have been at work or acting in the course of their duty.
• There must be no contributory negligence on the part of the claimant which would invalidate the claim.
• At the time of the damage or loss, the property was with the claimant in their personal possession and the damage or loss arose in the performance of their duties.
• The claimant had taken all reasonable steps to claim compensation under any existing private insurance policy, or if a third party was involved, from the third party.
• Allowing for the condition of the article at the time it was damaged or lost, the amount claimed in respect of its repair or replacement is reasonable (payment is based on current value of the article at the time of the loss and not on the cost of the replacement).
• The article in question was such that it was reasonable for the claimant to bring it on duty.  In this context it is stressed that any item taken on duty, such as a wrist watch, should not be of high value or liable to be easily damaged.