Police have been criticised for failing to post warnings about a missing psychiatric patient with a violent history on Tayside social media pages.
Paul Brownlie, who has schizophrenia, absconded while on an escorted trip from Rohallion Secure Care Clinic at Murray Royal Hospital in Perth on Wednesday.
Officers in Edinburgh posted images of Brownlie, 33, on their Facebook and Twitter pages on Thursday, warning the public not to approach him but nothing was posted on the force’s Tayside pages until Friday.
Although Brownlie, who is classed as a restricted patient, is understood to have given his escorts the slip in Perth, he handed himself in in the capital on Friday morning and returned to the Fair City.
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Liz Smith, who has previously criticised security at Murray Royal, said it was worrying that local residents had not been kept up to date.
She said: “The public have every right to be concerned, not least because the police in Edinburgh have been tweeting that Paul Brownlie should not be approached and that any sightings should be immediately reported.
“They are asking why these warnings have not been replicated in full in Tayside.”
She added that health bosses had a long way to go to address security at the unit.
“The fact that this patient, who has a long history of being very vulnerable, went missing while under escort is a major concern and it follows hard on the heels of other recent concerns that the Rohallion Unit at Murray Royal is still experiencing security problems.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said the force felt there was no need to warn local residents, adding: “Notifications of restricted patients absconding is the responsibility of the Scottish Government and it did, as normal practice, issue a press release and use social media channels.
“In this case, as it was suggested that Brownlie was in the Edinburgh area, Police Scotland used its social media channels in this area to redistribute this notification.
“Brownlie has since handed himself in and he did this in the Edinburgh area.”