One police officer in five in Scotland had a complaint made against them last year, according to statistics.

The most complaints were made against the Lothian and Borders force, and the least in Dumfries and Galloway.

The figures were compiled by the Accounts Commission for Scotland.

Across the country there were 1,608 complaints against police last year, the first year that all complaints were recorded.

Strathclyde Police want greater privacy

This equated to just over 20 complaints for every 100 officers, the commission said.

The nationwide total excluded Strathclyde, whose figures were said to be "unreliable".

In Lothian and Borders there were 28 complaints per 100 officers - a total of 726 complaints.

But only 10 per 100 officers, or 51 complaints, were received in Dumfries and Galloway.

The excluded "unreliable" data for Strathclyde gave a force total of 1,173 complaints, or 16 complaints per 100 officers.

'Actively encouraging'

The statistics were published as part of a series of regular reports by the Accounts Commission on whether public bodies were providing value for money.

Meanwhile the figures suggest the number of racist incidents reported to Scottish police forces last year was 3,115, an increase of 410 or 15% on the year before.

That number would increase since Scottish police forces were "actively encouraging" the reporting of racial incidents, the report added.

Strathclyde Police in July drew up plans to classify information gained in complaints against officers as confidential.

The force's joint police board made a formal request to the Scottish Executive asking for legislation on the issue.

Freedom of information campaigners described the plans as "draconian".