Policing Together and working with communities

General Election

The UK General Election will take place on Thursday, 4 July, 2024. Detailed planning is ongoing and officers in local communities are working alongside national teams and partners to ensure public safety and security to facilitate a peaceful, democratic process.
As with any election, Police Scotland, in connection with forces throughout the UK, provides safety and security advice to parties and candidates. We also liaise closely with local authority returning officers across Scotland regarding security at polling places.

Biometrics Conference

Last week, Police Scotland, along with the SPA and the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, hosted the first Scottish Biometrics Conference. This brought together experts to discuss how new, and future, technologies can support effective policing. It is our positive duty to explore and exploit new technologies but to do so with a strong ethical basis governed by our Rights Based Pathway, through consultation and engagement, and underpinned by our commitment to uphold people's human rights.
Our capture, retention and use of biometric data must be lawful, effective, proportionate and ethical in a policing context. The conference was a significant step, the start of that discussion and exploration, and it will continue in this and other forums.

Care Experienced Young Person event

On Friday, 24 May, officers and staff met with care experienced young people at an event organised by Who Cares? Scotland, and hosted by Scottish Fire and Rescue, to talk with them about career opportunities within Police Scotland.
The session was an example of our commitment to being a Corporate Parent, to reducing stigma and engaging with young people from this valued community who have so much to offer. Further events are planned and we look forward to being involved.

FBI National Executive Institute

Police Scotland has a longstanding collaborative relationship with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which was strengthened in the aftermath of the Lockerbie Disaster in 1989.

In 2021, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the FBI to further this mutually beneficial partnership, committing to fostering efficient and effective responses to threats through the identification and sharing of best practices to the leadership and management of police services and law enforcement agencies.
Earlier this month, Police Scotland hosted the FBI's National Executive Institute with 45 senior police leaders from the US, along with seven international colleagues, including one from Police Scotland. Along with other members of the Force Executive and external speakers, I addressed delegates across themes including policing by consent; policing the digital world; public health approaches to policing; recruitment and retention; leadership styles and policing under fiscal pressure.
Practical demonstrations were also delivered at Jackton on de-escalation tactics and the facilitation of peaceful protests, with a particular focus on how Police Scotland achieves this when the overwhelming majority of our officers do not carry firearms.

This is the third time in consecutive years the FBI has brought the NEI to Scotland, facilitated by our International Development and Innovation Unit. We have very much welcomed the opportunity to exercise our professional curiosity to learn from our guests, to share our experiences, to forge new professional bonds, and to underline our position as a centre of international excellence in policing education.

Pride Month

This month we are recognising PRIDE with a programme as part of this, I publicly apologised to the LGBTQI+ community which was published on 29 May. We are also flying of the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag at Scottish Police Headquarters, Tulliallan for the first time and a range of events have been developed by our LGBTQI+ Community and their allies.