Prevention, Problem Solving and Proactivity

Road safety campaign

We continue to prioritise road safety and this month, our road policing officers focused their enforcement activity and engagement work on speeding.

As part of the campaign Head of Road Policing Chief Superintendent Hilary Sloan joined Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop MSP to highlight the dangers of speeding. One in five road deaths in Scotland are caused by speeding.

The campaign’s message, “you only have to lose control once”, was shown in the form of a video which highlights the split-second moment before a collision from the driver’s perspective. It ran across digital platforms including TV, radio and online.

We're asking all drivers to understand that speeding is always a risk. It only takes a split second to lose control and it only has to happen once.

Police Scotland continues to support the Scottish Government's Road Safety Framework to reduce road deaths and injuries. Our officers are out every day educating road users and carrying out enforcement.

Take Five

We are supporting the national Take Five campaign which aims to help everyone protect themselves from financial fraud. This includes email deception and phone-based scams as well as online fraud – particularly where criminals impersonate trusted organisations.

As part of this, our Cybercrime Harm Prevention team supported the Stop Inn in Glasgow - a physical space for people to stop and use mind-reading technology to pour a drink. To do so successfully, they must take a moment, clear their mind and focus on what's in front of them. This helps reinforce the “Stop, Challenge, Protect" message for those who visit.

The Stop Inn also provided an opportunity for officers to speak directly to members of the public about the importance of stopping and thinking when they are faced with a potential scam.

Student Safety

Since early September, universities and colleges across the country have re-opened with tens of thousands of students either commencing or returning to their studies.

We are committed to ensuring that students do not become easy targets for crime and officers and staff from our Policing Together Division and Public Protection Units have joined divisional colleagues at various student engagement events taking place at campuses all over Scotland.

Officers have met face-to-face with students to offer crime prevention advice and information in relation to offences such as acquisitive crime, violence, and domestic abuse, as well as encouraging them to follow our social media channels for more helpful advice on staying safe throughout the duration of their studies.

We're supporting this with a digital toolkit of safety information which we will be sharing on social media channels and with key partners to enhance our engagement with students for crime prevention. 

Change to prioritise frontline policing

Criminal justice reform - summary case management

I have been clear that to improve the experiences of victims and witnesses, maximise frontline policing and tackle more crime, the criminal justice system must work more efficiently.

Last week, along with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service, domestic abuse advocacy service ASSIST and the Scottish Government, we highlighted the success of a pilot summary case management process.

The summary case management pilot was launched in September 2022 at Dundee, Hamilton and Paisley Sheriff Courts, before being expanded to Glasgow and Perth earlier this year.

Evaluation shows more than 500 summary trials did not require to be fixed in the pilot courts over the 19-month period. The decision has been taken to roll it out to all courts in Scotland.

I have consistently underlined the impact that criminal justice inefficiencies has on Police Scotland's operational capacity, our overtime bill and the wellbeing of officers. More than 500 officers are called daily to court, but only a small proportion of them have to give evidence. The overtime cost of officers being cited for court is £3.4m and £2.1m of that is for citations of officers while on annual leave. This is not a sustainable position financially, or operationally. We must reduce cancelled rest days and leave and increase the time officers can spend in communities.

I greatly welcome the progress demonstrated during the summary case management process which has been built on strong collaboration and commitment from all partners. I remain clear though that further improvements and efficiencies must be prioritised and accelerated right across the criminal justice system.

Policing's role in mental health - mental health index

As previously reported, Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs is leading Police Scotland's work with partners including the Authority and the Scottish Government and we've established a mental health taskforce to drive work in this priority area at pace.

Earlier this month, working with health colleagues and the Scottish Government, our mental health taskforce made a mental health index designed to help officers connect with the right support in health board areas quickly and efficiently available of officers' mobile devices.

Officers can refer to the Index to speak to a clinician in their area at any time, to identify the correct course of action when dealing with a person who is experiencing high-level distress. The clinician will advise on the correct course of action and arrange access to the most appropriate services. This can take away the need to sit for long periods of time in emergency departments.

We have examples where the mental health index has been used during a 'concern for person' call which was concluded within an hour with a mental health assessment completed over the phone and the appropriate support arranged. In comparison, a similar incident resulted in attendance at the Emergency Department, where without the Index being utilised, it was concluded in six hours of officer resource time. The person was taken to the emergency department to be assessed before it was determined they were able to be left in their own care.

The launch of the Mental Health Index will act as a prompt, providing national clarity and consistency in approach when considering options towards community triage processes.