Updates

Revised Model of Policing Oversight Group

In February 2024 the Authority established the Revised Model of Policing Oversight Group, to seek additional assurance on the pace and direction of the development of a revised model of policing, led by the Chief Constable. The Group met for the first time in April 2024, with six meetings taking place between April and October 2024.

The Group has enhanced the Authority’s oversight and assurance of the development of Police Scotland’s 3-Year Business Plan and 2030 Vision, and the related engagement with workforce and stakeholders. A closure report detailing the work of the Oversight Group is appended to my report (Appendix A).

At our last meeting in October 2024, Group Members agreed that the work had come to a natural conclusion following the Authority’s endorsement of Police Scotland’s 3-Year Business Plan at our September Board meeting. I am therefore seeking Members’ approval to stand down the Revised Model of Policing Oversight Group.

The Closure Report outlines the plans to mainstream governance and oversight of the model through the Authority’s established Board and Committee structures.

Commonwealth Games 2026 Policing Oversight Group

On 22 October the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) officially confirmed Glasgow as the host city of the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The Games will take place from Thursday 23 July to Sunday 2 August 2026 and feature a 10-sport programme concentrated across four venues within an eight-mile corridor.

Policing the Games will have an impact on policing in terms of resourcing, abstraction, financing and operational effectiveness. With this in mind, I propose the Authority stands up a dedicated short-term Oversight Group to provide enhanced scrutiny and assurance of progress in the planning and delivery of policing to support Commonwealth Games 2026. The Terms of Reference of the proposed Oversight Group are detailed at Appendix B which focus the Groups interest on public safety, officer and staff wellbeing, resourcing, operational effectiveness, and sustaining business as usual policing. The Group will also have a specific focus on ensuring that funding mechanisms are in place to ensure there is no detriment to the existing budget allocated to Police Scotland.

Criminal Justice Committee

On 30 October 2024, I attended the Criminal Justice Committee alongside Lynn Brown, Chief Executive and Fiona Douglas, Director of Forensic Services to provide evidence as part of the Committee’s pre-budget scrutiny of the 2025/26 policing budget.

Ahead of the session, the Authority provided a written submission setting out clearly the requirements for next year’s budget based on several assumptions. We also highlighted the need for significant increased capital investment and clarity beyond March 2026 and requested that the power of the SPA to borrow was explored as an option to address significant Capital requirements in the years ahead.

Since the evidence session, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the rate of employer National Insurance will increase by 1.2 percentage points, to 15% from 6 April 2025. In addition, the secondary threshold – the level at which employers become liable to pay national insurance on each employee's salary – will reduce from £9,100 per year to £5,000 per year. This has an inevitable implication on our budget requirement next year and beyond. The impact has been calculated at an additional £25.3 million of revenue requirement next year. This figure assumes a 4.75% pay award for both officers and staff is agreed. The impact will be greater should a higher award be agreed. The Chief Executive has written to the Criminal Justice Committee highlighting this.

Parliamentary Reception – Forensic Services in Scotland

On Wednesday 20 November 2024, Forensic Services hosted a reception in the Scottish Parliament. This was a good opportunity to highlight the value of Forensic Services to the criminal justice sector and illustrate the breadth and professional excellence of Forensic Services provided across Scotland.

I am grateful to Audrey Nicoll MSP, Convener of the Criminal Justice Committee who hosted the event for us, and to the MSPs who came along to learn more about the services provided to policing and the wider criminal justice sector.

I want to thank Fiona Douglas, Director of Forensic Services and her team who organised the event and attended to offer their insights. Parliamentarians had an opportunity to try out and learn about forensics skills used at crime scenes and try out some of the newer technology such as virtual reality. Parliamentary engagement is crucial to strengthening understanding and advocacy for Forensic Services among parliamentarians and policymakers.

Interpol General Assembly

The 92nd session of the Interpol General Assembly met in Glasgow earlier this month (4-7 November). The General Assembly is Interpol’s principal governing body and comprises delegates appointed by the governments of member countries.

The Assembly meets once a year and takes all the major decisions affecting general policy, the resources needed for international cooperation, working methods, finances and programmes of activities. I attended the opening ceremony on 4 November.

To coincide with the General Assembly, I attended and contributed to a conference hosted by Holyrood Magazine exploring International Law Enforcement in a Digital Age. The conference involved input from experts using cutting edge technologies to enforce laws across international borders and keep ahead of criminal gangs. Discussions explored a range of global and domestic challenges including cybercrime, data sharing, child sexual exploitation, safer cities and digital justice.

I took part in a private session on technology and policing and a public panel discussion about managing threat, risk, and harm globally and locally in the evolving age of AI.

Scottish Women’s Development Forum

The Authority was delighted to attend the Scottish Women’s Development Forum Annual Awards on 24 October 2024 at Tulliallan. These awards celebrate and recognise outstanding service, commitment and dedication of female officers, staff and volunteers working across policing, Forensic Services and the Authority’s Corporate team. I presented the Youth Volunteer of the year awards; Vice Chair Fiona McQueen presented the Police Staff Members of the year and Angela Leitch presented the Community Service awards.

I am continually impressed by the dedication and the commitment of our workforce and volunteers. This event reinforced that view - I want to congratulate everyone nominated for an award and the Scottish Women’s Development Forum for organising such a celebratory event.

Home Office

On 7-9 October, I spent a few days in London accompanied by Alasdair Hay, Chair of Policing Performance Committee, Lynn Brown, Chief Executive and Scott Ross, Head of Change and Operational Scrutiny, meeting a range of stakeholders to discuss policing issues.

On 7 October Alasdair, Scott and I met with the Home Office to discuss and enhance our understanding of nationally run projects including Emergency Services Mobile Communications Platform and National Law Enforcement Data Programme. These are both key projects which will offer critical infrastructure and technology to policing in Scotland.

We also discussed a mutual interest in assessing legal, ethical and proportionate approaches to technology in policing and discussed how we can learn from each other and share thinking and evidence going forward.

I have since had two meetings with the Home Office officials to discuss learning from Scotland’s police reform journey and to understand more about the Biometrics and Forensic Ethics Group which provides independent ethical advice to the Home Office and UK ministers regarding Home Office projects and policies.

National Crime Agency

On 8 October we met with the National Crime Agency (NCA). The NCA offers specialist capabilities and capacity to Police Scotland to tackle serious and organised crime. The Agency also supports the work of Police Scotland and the safety of victims in Scotland by sharing intelligence. The visit helped us to understand the critical role of the NCA in disrupting crime in Scotland.

A key element of our discussions related to the advanced techniques and approaches that SPA Forensic Services deploy particularly in relation to synthetic opioids. I was pleased to hear the NCA recognise and value this capability.

London Mayors Office for Policing and Crime

On 9 October, we visited the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) for a meeting with Sophie Linden, then Chair of MOPAC. The key issue we discussed was the use of Live Facial Recognition technology which is relevant given the commitment the Authority has made with Police Scotland and the Biometrics Commissioner to launch a conversation with key stakeholders about the use, benefits and ethical and privacy considerations required in advance of using it.

The Mayor of London’s office offered insight into the approach adopted by the Metropolitan Police in utilising the technology. We also discussed their approach to ethics panels and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Association of Police Chief Superintendents

On 11 November, I met with the President and General Secretary of the Association of Police Chief Superintendents to discuss a range of issues. The Associations view on the current officer pay position and the policing budget were the most pressing items on the agenda. These informal sessions support constructive dialogue, and I am grateful to Stewart Carle, General Secretary, and Chief Superintendent Rob Hay, President, for this engagement during my tenure as Chair of the Authority.

Scottish Police Federation

On 18 November, Lynn Brown, Chief Executive and I met with the Scottish Police Federation where the main item discussed was the Federations rationale for rejection of the pay offer. Similarly to ASPS, I am grateful for the continual and constructive engagement with the Authority from the Chair, David Threadgold, and General Secretary, David Kennedy, on a range of issues in addition to the more formal established mechanisms. This approach has been of great benefit to my tenure as Chair of the Authority.

Scottish LGBTI Police Association

12.1 Following a request by the Scottish LGBTI Police Association, Chris Creegan, Authority Member, Lynn Brown, Chief Executive and I met with representatives of the Association on 18 November to discuss the recent debate around Police Scotland’s approach to the recording of sex and gender. The Association raised the serious decline in confidence in policing within the trans community. It was agreed I would be provided with more evidence on this decline. I am grateful for the discussions and insights on this issue as understanding and hearing a range of voices is a critical component of this debate.

COSLA /Local and Regional Scrutiny Engagement

The Authority regularly engages with Police Scrutiny Conveners from Local Authority’s across Scotland, attending the national COSLA Police Conveners Forum. The latest meeting met on 21 November 2024 and the Authority was represented by Alasdair Hay, Chair of our Policing Performance Committee. The forum provides an opportunity to update conveners on the range of partnership activity underway across policing and local government, as well as seeking input to developing areas of work. Councillor Chalmers, COSLA Community Wellbeing spokesperson, chairs the forum and will update on that and other COSLA specific feedback during her standing agenda item at the December meeting of Policing Performance Committee.

Regional policing scrutiny meetings are also taking place this month, which I attend alongside DCC Jane Connors. These meetings are a further opportunity to discuss issues of local, regional, and national importance with Elected Members, and provide further detail on the national and specialist provision which supports delivery of policing in every local community. I am grateful to COSLA and local police scrutiny representatives for their continued and positive engagement.

Joint Research and Evidence Forum (JREF)

The JREF, which is led on behalf of the Authority by member Tom Halpin, alongside co-chair DCC Alan Spiers, has recently agreed strategic research priorities for the next year and put in place a programme of events for the period until March 2026. The work programme for the forum focused on ensuring research and evidence is operationalised to deliver improvements in the policing system, and supports our ambition of sharing the good practice evident in Scotland with colleagues across the UK and beyond.

Mental Health Distress and Vulnerability

I am pleased to report the progress being made through the Authority led Partnership Group focused on policing and mental health distress. Through the group a Framework for Collaboration and Collaborative Commitments have been developed and will be finalised for publication early in 2025. These documents build on the strong platform of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy cosponsored by COSLA and Scottish Government, with a focus on the collaborative approach required to support those individuals in mental health distress and crisis who come in contact with policing to access more appropriate services and supports.

Voluntary Health Scotland Conference

On 23 October I attended and spoke at the annual Voluntary Health Scotland Conference about how policing and the third sector could work collaboratively together to improve outcomes for people and communities. My input stemmed from the unique statutory duty that Police Scotland has to improve the wellbeing of individuals and communities. This duty is distinctive in policing across the United Kingdom, and probably in the world. Police Scotland has much in common with the third sector – and I called on third sector organisations working in communities to get involved with the officers who are part of Community Planning Partnerships.