Background

Policing in Scotland draws it’s legitimacy from the consent and trust of the public and we must continue to build and maintain confidence of all communities we serve. It is critical that Police Scotland’s culture is welcoming and inclusive and that our officers and staff are supported to be themselves, thrive and develop personally and professionally. Police Scotland strives to be fully representative of the communities of Scotland.

This report provides pertinent updates since Police Scotland’s last Annual Workforce Diversity, Inclusion and Equality in Policing report in June 2022. Since then, there have been significant junctures as Police Scotland continues its journey to become an actively anti-discriminatory police service. This includes the publication of the Policing Together Strategy in September 2022 and the creation of a new Assistant Chief Constable Policing Together portfolio in February 2023. At the last meeting of the Scottish Police Authority Board on 25 May 2023, the Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone QPM, publically addressed the matter of institutional discrimination within the service. In his statement, the Chief Constable clearly and publicly stated that institutional discrimination exists within Police Scotland and that acknowledging this issue is essential to our absolute commitment to championing equality and becoming an anti-racist service and to our determination to lead wider change in society.

This paper outlines the work ongoing in Police Scotland to fully and sustainably embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and to ensure that our core values of integrity, fairness and respect and commitment to upholding human rights are an integral part of the culture of the organisation at every level.