Report Summary
The Scottish Police Authority responded to a Scottish Government consultation on the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) Bill. This was submitted on 6 December 2024.
This should be read alongside the Authority’s additional written submission on the Bill.
This PDF document above captures the Authority's submission to a Government consultation which was conducted via an online survey.
To view as accessible content please use the sections below.
Duty of candour
Duty of candour
Section 3 seeks to introduce a duty of candour (a requirement to act with transparency, honesty, and integrity) for police officers in primary legislation by amending the conduct regulations.
It would also introduce an organisational duty of candour by adding an additional policing principle to the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 that Police Scotland should be candid and co-operative with proceedings, including investigations against constables.
The constable’s declaration would be amended to include, “that I will follow the Code of Ethics for Policing in Scotland”.
Q: What are your views on the proposal to introduce a duty of candour for constables as set out in section 3?
A: The Authority supports these provisions in the Bill. However, it is unclear from the Bill whether the duty of candour applies to matters occurring while a police officer is off-duty and, if so, to what extent. The Scottish Government’s pre-Bill consultation sought views on this issue, and para 51 of the Policy Memorandum indicates that most respondents agreed that the duty should not be restricted to on-duty matters. The Bill does not contain any explicit provision addressing this issue.
