Key Achievements

Scottish Government Funded Malawi & Zambia Programme

Since the last update, Police Scotland has continued to deliver a programme of work, fully supported by the Scottish Government. These programmes remain the most significant current commitment for the IDIU in terms of international work.

After the pause in training for the Covid-19 pandemic, a review in 2022 was undertaken in Zambia (the Malawi review was cancelled due to cyclone Freddy) for Police Scotland to maximise understanding of what the programme was supporting well and where it could deliver more. It was apparent there remained a gap in first responder knowledge, understanding and confidence in dealing with sexual crimes and child protection cases. This ultimately resulting in a poor service to vulnerable victims of crime, supporting a lack of confidence in the criminal justice systems with no alternative for victims but to remain in high-risk situations and offenders left at large.

For the financial year 2023/24, a further £394,277 of funding from the Scottish Government was granted to Police Scotland to extend the training to both the Malawi and Zambia Police Services with a continued focus on protecting vulnerable people, particularly around gender-based sexual violence (GBV).

This grant has supported 12 deployments to Malawi and 12 deployments to Zambia, resulting in a total number of 22 Scottish officers being involved in the delivery of this training. Two courses have been delivered 

• Train the Trainer (TTT)
• Sexual Offences and Child Protection for First Responders (SOCP)

The TTT courses are Scottish Credit & Qualifications Framework (SCQF) accredited and provide both police services with a pool of officers who are now professionally qualified to deliver training courses - essentially providing them the opportunity to become self-sufficient in delivering the Scottish SOCP course across their respective countries.

The SOCP course provides front line officers with the skills to respond professionally to victims of GBV, ensuring a victim-centred response is provided; encourages confidence to report the violence perpetrated against them, to ensure evidence is captured early to support the victim’s account and provide stronger cases for criminal justice processes. The course provides basic skills in interviewing children; dealing with domestic abuse; interviewing suspects; presenting cases in written police reports and giving evidence in court.

In addition to the training, there has been a programme of work to develop a police ICT system across Malawi. There have now been 41 stations connected, with 7 in the process of being connected - after which will leave only 10 establishments without connectivity.

Review 2024 - Three team members from the IDIU travelled to Malawi and Zambia from 26th January – 10th February 2024 to undertake the annual review of the two programmes and also to inform the development of a multi-year business case proposal for the period 2024-27. A full write up of the findings is underway and will be available in the coming weeks, however, in summary some of the key findings follow:

The review team undertook discussions with front line officers in both city and rural policing areas, middle managers and senior executive level leaders in both the Malawi and Zambia Police Services. They further met with heads of policing divisions of the Victim Support Unit (VSU); Crime Prevention Team; Criminal Investigation teams; ICT; Child Protection and Training Delivery.

In addition, the review team met with wider partners in both countries, including Specialist Prosecutors for GBV; Magistrates (Justice Forum, Child and GBV Courts); Clinicians (One Stop Centres); NGOs; Social Services and Forensic Scientists.

The overwhelming consensus from discussions in both countries was that the Police Scotland training courses have had a significant impact on a number of levels:

• The officers who completed the course spoke passionately about the improved confidence and skills they now have – particularly around dealing with vulnerable victims. A number of officers reported they transferred to work within the VSU having been inspired by the training.

• There was high level of praise for the improved quality of investigation in GBV cases with anecdotal feedback of improved convictions in court.

• Prosecutors and Magistrates spoke of noting an obvious higher standard of cases reported by officers who had completed the course compared to those who had not.

• There was feedback that peer support was being provided by trained officers to untrained colleagues and with this a change in attitudes towards GBV, particularly in a domestic setting.

The interview skills provided has meant officers no longer resorting to torture tactics in suspect interviews.

Participants spoke with an honesty in their feedback highlighting areas they felt still required work. This included:
• A need to de-centralise training to ensure remote and rural areas received access to these skills, highlighting that vulnerable victims in these areas are at a much heightened risk of abuse.

• A need for more middle and senior leaders within both police services to undertake the training – this would assist in the changing attitudes towards GBV in policing and ensuring frontline officers are supported in their investigations which are currently misunderstood by senior investigating officers who don’t share the same skill set.

• A need to understand the impact of trauma on victims, particularly in cases on non-recent abuse being reported which is dismissed almost always as malicious given the passage of time.

• A lack of resource to fully support victims after reporting abuse and therefore a high withdrawal of cooperation by victims.

• Still a lack of more specialist skills in terms of sexual offence investigations (Rape Task Force); crime scene management; Human Trafficking; cyber-enabled abuse.

The review team also undertook visits to One Stop Centres; DNA laboratories and Victim Support Centres to assess what services were available to adult and child victims of GBV. These field trips were highly insightful, which provided further considerations for potential collaboration with wider partners in both Malawi/Zambia and here in Scotland to again improve outcomes for victims.

The review team sensed a determination in both countries to improve their response to vulnerable victims and it was clear there had been progress. There were several comments made of the desire to provide a “high standard of response like Police Scotland” and a will to continue to work together. There was, however, also a frustration in both police services at their lack of resource to implement prevention work and this will be a consideration for the 2024-2027 business case Police Scotland propose.

Police Scotland impact - As mentioned, 22 officers have been deployed to Malawi or Zambia to support this programme of work. A debrief takes place with all participants on return to Scotland and feedback taken. Despite the very challenging working environments they experience, without exception, all officers have provided overwhelmingly positive responses, particularly around the importance of working in areas which hold different cultural values that support policing in their own diverse communities. From a continuous professional development (CPD) perspective they speak of the opportunity to develop their communication, collaboration and leadership skills.

More prominent though is the profound impact exposure to countries with extreme poverty and limited resources has on them. The thought-provoking conversations with African officers working in remote areas with no on-hand technology, transport, specialist officers or wider public resource causes them to not only consider their privilege but problem-solving skills in such situations. The officers require to understand cultures at complete odds to what they know, sometimes listening to accounts where “witch doctors” and “tribal traditions” are used to legitimise sexual violence perpetrated against children and find diplomatic ways to respectfully present why this is unlawful, immoral and gradually change views.

There is no doubt these programmes leave a significantly positive impact on the personal and professional development of the Police Scotland officers who participate in them.

FCDO Funded Columbia Programme

In February 2021, Police Scotland became involved in the Police Innovations for Stabilisation in Colombia Programme (IPE) after an invitation from the FCDO to deliver this CSSF (Conflict Stability and Security Fund) funded programme under the project management of UN IoM.

The main objective of the Police Innovations for Stabilisation in Colombia Programme (IPE) was to –

“contribute to the modernisation of the police service, by scaling up police practices with a focus on prevention and peacebuilding in communities affected by violence and conflict”

The programme components were as follows:

• Community-based police prevention
• Transformation of large-scale social conflicts from a rights-based approach
• Gender mainstreaming
• Police Service Management
• Integrity and Culture change

This programme ran over a three year period and was a challenging piece of work. Rightly there were questions asked around the appropriateness of engaging with a police service whose values did not align with those of Police Scotland.

This was addressed by engaging with the Ethics Committees and by having open and honest dialogue with critical observers.

The programme also involved an in-bound visit for 8 officers from Columbia to Scotland in February 2023. They were involved in a study week, building on the themes that had been a focus during the preceding three years, including Policing Together inputs; policing protests as well as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Despite challenges, the feedback on the impact of the programme was resoundingly positive with both Colombian officers and Police Scotland officers and staff who actively participated reporting back to the IDIU on how powerful the experience had been for them as individuals.

Police Scotland Impact - it ensures that as a developed nation with a skilled and specialised police service, we are supporting the UN sustainable development goals outlined earlier in this report, we are upskilling and inspiring our staff and officers with the opportunity it presents and we are indirectly serving the needs of our own communities here in Scotland by attempting to impact the illegal drugs trade at a time where the number of drugs death in Scotland continues to be a concerning challenge. There have been no further requests from the FCDO for Police Scotland to continue or further develop this collaboration as yet but if a request is made and approved by our International Development Board (IDB), opportunities such as this are of great value to our organisation.

Global Police Innovation Exchange Leadership Programme (GPXLP)

The Global Policing Innovation Exchange (GPX) was established in 2019 and is a collective of like-minded law enforcement agencies that meets bi-annually to share and collaborate on common challenges and opportunities facing policing globally.

There are 3 main focus areas for the GPX which are:

• Innovation
• Strategic Foresight
• Leadership

There are currently 11 agencies across 10 countries who make up the GPX. These included Australian Federal Police (AFP), New Zealand Police, Singapore Police, Dubai Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Netherlands Police, Brazil Federal Police, Chile Federal Police, Germany, National Crime Agency and Police Scotland.

The GPX meets bi-annually once in person and once online to discuss matters aligned to the focus areas, progress work through identified working groups and to collectively share ideas and explore solutions to global issues.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) held the chair for 4 years and in March 2023 passed this to Police Scotland (led by DCC Alan Speirs) for 2 years.

As a result of discussions through the GPX Board there was a recognised desire across all agencies to develop the concept of a Global Leadership Programme (GPXLP). As a result of this Police Scotland agreed to second a Superintendent for 4 months to the AFP to work alongside them and the Australian Institute of Police Management to develop this concept.

On conclusion of the secondment the concept was proposed to the GPX Board and to Police Scotland’s Executive team whereby support was gained to turn this from concept into a deliverable product.

In March 2023 year 1 of a 2 year GPXLP pilot was launched with 19 International participants - a mix of staff and officers all deemed with the potential of being future executive level staff or officers. Police Scotland provided 4 participants in year 1. The other participants are from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, The Netherlands, Brazil, the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) and Chile.

Police Scotland have led, in collaboration with the AFP, to create and deliver this 12 month programme which sees the participants operate in syndicates with allocated themes to work on and deliver options and approaches to tackling global policing challenges (GPC). The 4 themes this year were Trust, Geo Politics, Environment and Technology.

The programme has consisted of multi module learning including sessions via a shared Moodle site, in person residential (Australia April 2023 and Scotland February 2024), a study tour (Singapore October 2023) and online learning and input session from GPX countries. The programme will conclude with each syndicate presenting their GPC to the GPX Board at the Scotland residential in February 2024 in addition to submitting a syndicate 5000 word essay in support. In 2024, the GPXLP will enter the second year of its two-year pilot, presenting an opportunity to build on its foundational success and enhance the benefit to participants.

Police Scotland Impact - The GPXLP is designed to create a global network of police leaders equipped with the skills, knowledge and understanding to adapt and respond to emerging issues affecting policing and society.

GPXLP brings together high potential police representatives to develop their leadership capacity, with a focus on vertical, rather than traditional horizontal leadership development. Participants are given the opportunity to build professional networks while discussing and developing strategies to prepare their organisations for the challenges ahead in themes that resonate with the policing community around the world.

Other IDIU Collaborations
Norwegian Mentoring Collaboration
The Norwegian Police University (NPU) is the central educational establishment for the Norwegian Police Service (NPS), organised under the Norwegian National Police Directorate. Students joining the Norwegian Police Service (NPS) must complete a 3 year degree course (Bachelor – Police Studies) with year three involving a final thesis on an agreed police related theme.

An exciting pilot programme which focusses on the development of officers in constable ranks commenced in December 2022. This involves collaborating with students from Norway who have reached the third year of their bachelor programme and are preparing to write their final year thesis.

Two areas of police business were chosen as topics for the pilot programme:

• De-escalation
• Domestic Abuse

Norwegian officers were “buddied” with 7 operational Police Scotland Constables and specialists from across 7 local and national divisions - identified following an application and selection process. The Police Scotland officers’ principal objective was to collaborate with the Norwegian Police University Students while they were writing their bachelor thesis.

The Scottish officers were enrolled into a Mentoring and Supporting Colleagues programme to support their continuous professional development. On completion of the accreditation process, Constables are awarded an SCQF Level 7 certificate. This is of particular significance as it is acknowledged that opportunities for development for those holding the rank of Constable are not as frequently available as those in more senior leadership roles.

This collaboration has continued this academic year with a further 6 more Police Scotland officers benefitting from this development opportunity and obtaining a professional Mentoring and Coaching award.

The feedback from officers participating has been overwhelmingly positive whilst providing constructive comments to make improvements in the programme.

Global Study Visits
Over the last year, the IDIU have continued to build on existing partnerships, whilst making wider, new connections in an effort to find mutually beneficial opportunities to work with those who reflect our own values through learning and development, and where there is strategic enhancement to the work and contribution of the IDIU. As was mentioned in the previous update, the IDIU has moved mainly to providing themed study visits to agencies, pulling together bespoke programmes of delivery to meet the needs of the requesting partner.

These include (but are not limited to):

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – the IDIU successfully supported the delivery of the FBI National Executive Institute (NEI) programme in 2022 and 2023 and have very recently approached the IDIU once again and requested a return to Scotland in June 2024, seeking further opportunities to collaborate in learning. This is the flagship leadership programme of the FBI and it is to Police Scotland’s credit that Scotland is the only overseas venue where this event has been held. This collaboration is of particular importance as it provides financial recompense which Police Scotland re-invest into other areas of the IDIU work (see Finance section later).

• German Collaborations – The IDIU provided training to students from Polizei Berlin in 2023 on specific themes such as de-escalation and responding to managing people in mental health crisis. Like the FBI, Polizei Berlin have subsequently requested further engagement with Police Scotland with a similar focus to the 2023 programme. In addition, a number of other German connections have been further established including Baden Wurttenberg and Lower Saxony visiting Scotland in the coming weeks.

• Combined Study Visit with police officers from Germany, Norway and Cyprus where it was identified their requests fell into the same themed categories.

• Copenhagen Police – senior managers came to Scotland to learn about policing a football event; public order; intelligence teams and sharing of good practice.

• US Secret Service, Royalty and Special Protection (RaSP) & the Diplomatic Security Service – a one week programme delivering presentations on leadership; protected detail operations; technical teams and security.

In each of these study visits, officers from Police Scotland, with expertise in specific areas of policing, were asked to support the delivery of presentations/demonstrations and afforded opportunity to engage with foreign partners, thus providing wider experience in developing their collaborative and leadership skills. The IDIU are finding many of the requests coming to the department for study visits are formed on the basis of positive word of mouth experiences from previous engagements with other countries and agencies.

Wider Collaborations
In addition to the Scottish Government funded programmes and the themed study visits, the IDIU have undertaken wider collaborative work which include (but not limited to):

Falkland Islands secondments – In June 2022 discussions began between Police Scotland and the Royal Falkland Islands Police (RFIP) to develop a twinning arrangement between the two organisations. This was part of wider twinning programmes across UK Policing driven by the FCDO. On 28 January 2023, Police Scotland received an urgent request for short term operational assistance as a result of multiple factors including the resignation of the Chief of Police and significantly reduced numbers of other ranks which raised concerns around cohesion and potential instability.

As a result of the aforementioned issues, and the nature of the geography of the Falklands, 2 Police Scotland officers have been seconded to the RFIP for a period of 9 months – due to end March 2024. The new Chief of Police has provided consistent positive feedback regarding the collaboration with Police Scotland. The seconded officers have been exposed to mentoring skills and been visible leaders within the Falkland Islands which will serve them well on their return to Scotland. The IDIU has now entered into early discussions for consideration of future secondments as well as the RFIP funding their probationers to undertake police training at the Scottish Police College. The Home Office has also invited Police Scotland on to a working group about “Twinning”, recognising the secondments as good practice on feedback from the Head of Emergency Services in the Falkland Islands. These secondments were invoiced to the Falklands on a quarterly basis and were full economic cost recovery.

Leadership in Counter Terrorism Programme (LinCT) - The programme is designed to create a collaborative cadre of senior law enforcement and other supporting officials who have a broad, strategic global appreciation of events and intelligence, and the ability to act locally within their authority to contribute to the global counter terrorism effort. LinCT is designed to integrate the core content areas of terrorism, intelligence, partnerships and leadership, thereby creating a unique approach that replicates the reality of the counter terrorism environment.

The partners who deliver the LinCT programme consist of the following countries and agencies:
• Australia: Australian Federal Police and Australian Institute of Police Management
• Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• Northern Ireland: Police Service of Northern Ireland
• Scotland: Police Scotland
• United States of America: Federal Bureau of Investigation
• New Zealand Police

The objectives of the programme are:

• To develop the knowledge, skills and perspectives required to provide strategic leadership for law enforcement and intelligence organisations to effectively counter terrorism; and
• To utilise the relationships, knowledge and skills developed through the LinCT Programme to develop a collaborative network that provides strategic leadership to minimise the fear and threat of terrorism in the community.

Police Scotland currently hold the Chair (DCC Malcolm Graham) of the LinCT Board of Governors who have the responsibility to steer the delivery and development of this illustrious and long-standing leadership programme.

This year, the programme has been opened to police staff members within Police Scotland for the first time. This is an important step in acknowledging the skills and specialisms that police staff members bring to the organisation and enhances development pathways such as this that have been unavailable to date. It is important that Police Scotland are alive to the changing landscape of policing and the need to capitalise on all the skills that exist within the organisation.