Police Reports?

[scottishlad]

Were police reports a thing and if so where can I access them? One of my ancestors drowned and does have an amended death certificate, however I’m curious to know more about the circumstances of that night and was wondering if the police would have had any information on it? He drowned and was brought into the police station where he was pronounced per his death certificate. Thank you!

Most Forces in Scotland destroyed all Reports/Paperwork after a period of between 5 and 12 years after the closure of the incident. e.g Glasgow City had a time period of 7 years.
Was there a Corrected Entry (RCE) with the death registration ?

Yes which I have however it offers very little details of the incident itself. I was hoping to find something that shed a little more light on what happened. I guess that’s probably unlikely however. Thanks

[Ashtone]

Is there a chance there could be more than one newspaper report of the incident? I've got a drowning incident in my family from the early 20th century. Found several reports, one of which didn't mention my relative's first name, whilst the other reports did. I only found it by varying my search terms. It was actually the report which had more details.

[scottishlad]

Is there a chance there could be more than one newspaper report of the incident? I've got a drowning incident in my family from the early 20th century. Found several reports, one of which didn't mention my relative's first name, whilst the other reports did. I only found it by varying my search terms. It was actually the report which had more details.

Yes I have two or three on the incident however they are almost verbatim the same thing

[oldfashionedgirl]

Have you tried the fatal accident inquiries in the National Records of Scotland?
They are at the back of the Record of Criminal Jury Trials books.

They are listed by the date of the inquiry not the date of death.

I had to order up the book in advance and look at it in Edinburgh.

I was looking at the inquiry of a young relative who died in a motorcycle accident in the 1930s

There was also a RCE on his death certificate.

[Crumblie]

Would the Procurator Fiscal have investigated a drowning in the 1880s, if they did there is usually an addition to the death certificate.

[Archivos]

Were police reports a thing and if so where can I access them? One of my ancestors drowned and does have an amended death certificate, however I’m curious to know more about the circumstances of that night and was wondering if the police would have had any information on it? He drowned and was brought into the police station where he was pronounced per his death certificate. Thank you!

On the whole, those type of reports haven't survived. However, it is always worth seeing if the police records for the area it happened have. These may be held in the local authority archives (eg, Grampian Police archives are held at Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives) so contacting the local archive is a good start. They will be able to advise if the records are held with them or elsewhere, and may know if there are no records.