Strategic Engagement

On 15 June, together with Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and Papal lead for the Santa Marta Group, I co-hosted a major summit to tackle human trafficking involving police, faith and civic leaders. Santa Marta Group is the faith-led, international anti-trafficking charity that brings together law enforcement, civil society and the Church, from across the world, to work together to end modern slavery.

The conference took place at the Scottish Crime Campus, Gartcosh, and was attended by Justice Secretary Angela Constance, Solicitor General Ruth Charteris KC, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), Commissioner Drew Harris, An Garda Síochána (Irish Police) and Scottish Police Authority Chair Martyn Evans. Former Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown (UN Special Envoy) and partner agencies including Migrant Help, Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) and Justice and Care, and representatives of the National Crime Agency, Police Service of Northern Ireland, and the Metropolitan Police Service. Former Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Theresa May also participated.

Human trafficking is a global problem, and reports of human trafficking continue to increase across Scotland. Police Scotland is taking a proactive, human rights based approach to trafficking, identifying vulnerability or providing support to people who may be arriving in Scotland and may be at risk of criminal exploitation.

We are working with our law enforcement partners across the world to build the intelligence picture, identify trends and form joint investigation teams to disrupt the traffickers.

Last week we welcomed policing and law enforcement colleagues from across the world for part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Executive Institute training programme.

The intensive programme is for executive officers from the FBI, as well as law enforcement agencies in the USA, Canada, Portugal, Ghana, Norway, Slovenia and Scotland. Between Sunday, 11 June and Thursday, 15 June, part of the course was delivered at Police Scotland Headquarters, Tulliallan.

In total, 48 participants attended, where a range of subjects were discussed, including the Scottish approach to policing; violence against women and girls; de-escalation and officer safety and policing protests.

Police Scotland has built a collaborative relationship with the FBI since 2018 and, although the organisation rarely holds the executive training programme outside of the United States, this is the second time delegates have been hosted in Scotland.

Police Scotland’s commitment to values based policing which upholds human rights is of international interest and we welcome the opportunity to share insights and approaches with colleagues across the world. At the same time, we are ready to learn from any sector or agency to help us build the best possible service for our fellow citizens.

I was grateful to welcome delegates and thank everyone who continues to contribute to this successful collaboration.

Between 16 and 18 June, together with Scottish Police Authority Chair Martyn Evans, Deputy Chief Constable Malcom Graham participated in the Police Foundation annual policing conference at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor. This is a senior policing conference and was attended by Chief Constables, Police and Crime Commissioners, Home Office officials and academics from across the United Kingdom.

The conference is in its 40th year and provides an excellent opportunity to discuss and enhance partnership working and collaboration. The theme of this year’s conference was: ‘Delivery - what do we want the police to do and how can they deliver it’, and DCC Graham delivered an input on Police Scotland’s reform journey and public trust and confidence.