Mr McPhee writing for the SCOLAG Journal has published research that criminal offences that relate to unlawful evictions are not being honoured in Scotland. Police Scotland have not released figures for complaints in relation to this, due to the fact they say they do not store this information in a structured way.
Mr McPhee is of the view this matter is not being taken seriously by the police and in turn the Fiscals Office. The COPFS, it was discovered, received an average of 31 reports per year in relation to unlawful eviction in the last 5 years. From the research Mr McPhee has been able to conclude:“only that COPFS proceeded against between 56 and 59 people in the five years to 31 March 2018, being an average of around 11 per year.“ This figure is extremely low in comparison to other offences. Mr McPhee concludes the report by stating the current statutory provisions are more that adequate however, “it simply requires authorities to act responsibly, and to uphold the law” and urgent action is required in this area.