Item 8

HMICS Assurance Review of Scottish Police Authority Forensic Toxicology Provision

Craig Naylor, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, (CNaylor) provided a summary of the report; highlighting the background to the commissioning of the report, as well as some key findings and recommendations.

In discussion the following matters were raised:
• The Chair commented that the Authority welcomed the report as drug driving is prevalent and process tracking and engagement within the justice system was poor and needed improvement. Engagement with partners wasn’t as clear as should have been. Overall it is an early flag of the critical issues that are required. The Chair thanked ACC Bex Smith (ACCSmith) for her leadership of the Gold Group.
• FDouglas thanked HMICS for their work and confirmed Forensic Services accepted the recommendations. FDouglas confirmed partners will establish a Strategic Oversight Group which will report to the Forensic Services Committee. Members were advised that work to review and respond to recommendations has already commenced and FDouglas confirmed progress thus far has assured her there is now a more robust response to drug driving cases.
• ACCSmith commented that the response to solve initial issues was a collaborative effort, and Police Scotland welcomed the report.
• LBrown noted that a lot of recommendations were for more than one organisation. As such, SPA will drive forward the work they are responsible for. FDouglas agreed it was complex set of recommendations and the Strategic Oversight Group will help ensure partners to work collaboratively.
• The Chair sought clarity on what assurances the Forensic Services Committee had received on time barred cases. Forensic Services Committee Chair, Paul Edie, confirmed the Committee were clear on the current position at the time of previous meeting. FDouglas added data was being tracked monthly and only one case has been time barred since January 2023. FDouglas stated that 80% of Section 5a toxicology analysis is being completed within three months therefore the risk is significantly reduced.
• Members were assured that Forensic Services can meet demand should the time bar limit reduce to six months. Forensic Services Committee Chair, Paul Edie, confirmed the Committee will have a standalone report on this issue to allow clear focus. The Chair advised the Committee is being asked to focus more on performance, with workforce issues reported to People Committee and finance issues reported to the Resources Committee.
• The Chair questioned whether work can be accelerated through use of AI. FDouglas responded that the use of AI in forensic science provision would be novel in terms of the scope of how activity is validated. Work is ongoing nationwide to work through known issues and AI would unlikely be an immediate solution. CNaylor agreed with FDouglas’s assessment.
• Members questioned how the balance between demand and capacity will be managed if enforcement is increased to match public interest in road safety. CNaylor responded that a whole system approach is required to understand demand and look at road safety strategies from government level. DCCConnors confirmed data analysis to understand demand was working well, adding there were a number of forums available to discuss preventative mechanisms to help manage processes.
• The Chair sought comment on what strategies Police Scotland are undertaking to reduce prevalence of drug driving and heard a key piece of work was ensuring that officers who take samples are doing so properly and have an awareness of demand.
• The Chair confirmed an action plan will be provided to HMICS by end of July ’23, with progress reported to the Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee.
• CCLivingstone referred to recommendation 17 and commented how it was a difficult task for SPA to be both service provider and scrutiny body of forensic services. The Chair confirmed SPA had accepted all recommendations and would work to implement them, including recommendation 17. Progress on this work will be discussed with partners and reported to HMICS and formally to the appropriate governance committees.

The Authority RESOLVED to:
• NOTE the report
• AGREE the following action:
Action plan to be provided to HMICS by end of July ‘23.
20230621-BM-001