A Lanarkshire woman who was subjected to years of abuse from a serving police officer has hit out at the justice system after struggling to discover how the punishment part of his sentence is being implemented.
Anne-Marie Hirdman was in a relationship with 43-year-old Fraser Ross for six years, during which time she claimed he subjected her to physical, verbal or emotional abuse on an almost-weekly basis.
Ross, who was a police officer for 16 years before resigning in disgrace, was found guilty of abuse charges against Anne-Marie but in June 2021 was handed a community payback order (CPO) with 250 hours unpaid by a sheriff, and also made the subject of supervision. As part of the three-year supervision requirement he was to attend a domestic violence programme.
The repeated abuse was so bad that Anne-Marie claimed she feared that she would be killed. After Ross, from Motherwell, was sentenced she called on the authorities to do more to tackle domestic abuse and for harsher punishments to be dished out to perpetrators.
Following her prolonged ordeal Anne-Marie went on to help other victims of domestic abuse by working with Women’s Aid.
The mum again hit out at the justice system in March this year after discovering her abuser didn’t have to personally appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court for a review of his CPO after a decision was made to “reduce footfall”. She labelled it a “further kick in the teeth”.
Anne-Marie has since been told by social workers that Ross hasn’t been engaging with Up2U – the domestic violence programme he was assigned to as part of the supervision order.
She said: ““The communication regarding this has been vague. When I have asked what is going on, I get short answers.
“I have been told by social workers that he hasn’t engaged with the Up2U program. I feel like his punishment choice was not fit for purpose as the Up2U program should only go to people who admit guilt and want help.
“I keep getting told police officers don’t get treated differently, but that’s all I have seen. I’m getting told one thing by social work but there’s no scrutiny on the court side of it.”
Anne-Marie has also raised questions over transparency after finding out that his CPO progress reports are being heard in court behind closed doors.
“The hearings are shrouded in secrecy,” she added. “They aren’t taking place in public, so nobody really knows what’s going on.
“We don’t even know if it’s still the same sheriff that’s dealing with it or a different one. As the survivor, it’s heartbreaking as this sort of punishment will be sending out a signal to abusers that they can do this for years on end and only be given pathetic punishments.”
Earlier this year Anne-Marie claimed the former cop was being treated differently from other perpetrators of domestic abuse.
She said: “It’s the wrong signal to send out to criminals who are police officers and to the public in having faith in the system.”
A Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service spokesperson said: “A criminal justice social worker is assigned by the local authority to supervise the requirements of a CPO. This sentence requires individuals to pay back to their communities for the damage their crimes have caused, and to deal with the underlying causes of their offending behaviour.
“Those who break the conditions of the order can be returned to court. Where an offender has complied with an order, the sheriff may decide to deal with the matter in his absence.”
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