Protected Disclosures

Police Scotland’s priority is to address the concern that has been raised and to allocate the matter for investigation to the most appropriate business area for consideration and progression.

Furthermore, the service is committed to supporting anyone who has raised a concern of wrongdoing and will not tolerate their harassment or victimisation. This is highlighted to the receiving Division/Department upon allocation.

Upon receipt of the report or referral, PSD NGAU will also consider whether the matter has been witnessed at work and whether the individual making the report held a reasonable belief that:

 They were acting in the public interest and;
 That the disclosure tended to show past, present, or likely future wrongdoing falling into one or more of the following categories:

A criminal offence has been, is being or is likely to be committed;
A person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation;
A miscarriage of justice has occurred, is occurring or likely to occur;
The Health or Safety of an individual has been, is being, or is likely to be endangered;
The environment has been, is being or is likely to be damaged;
There has been deliberate concealment of information in relation to any of the above.

These specific cases are identifiable on PSD Systems under ‘Whistleblowing’ to provide early notification that the individuals making these reports may be entitled to seek redress through an Employment Tribunal if they consider that they have suffered detriment as a result of making their report.

Between 01 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, PSD NGAU recorded 25 matters on PSD systems which were assessed to be ‘protected disclosures’ as per PIDA legislation with 9 of these reports being made anonymously.

Since the creation of PSD NGAU in February 2017, the following referrals have been assessed to relate to ‘protected disclosures’ as per PIDA 1988:

Year Total No. of Referrals Received by PSD NGAU Total No. of Referrals Recognised (in Full or Part) as Whistleblowing
2017/18 1175 1*
2018/19 2168 4*
2019/20 2419 13*
2020/21 2743 7*
2021/22 2720 13*
2022/23 3084 15*
2023/24 3,174 25*

* These include anonymous reports that are reasonably assessed to be ‘protected disclosures’ as per PIDA 1988

During the Year 2023/24, Police Scotland has enhanced current Whistleblowing processes, operations and governance, as follows:

 Police Scotland has renewed its contract with PROTECT to provide independent advice to officers, staff and managers with regards to managing Reporting Wrongdoing (Whistleblowing);
 PROTECT continues to deliver training to officers within Professional Standards and provide the opportunity to attend webinars and seminars to ensure continuous professional development;
 A further benchmarking assessment has been undertaken by PROTECT which highlighted opportunities for Police Scotland to improve internal communications;
 Police Scotland observed World Whistleblower Day on 23 June 2024 and published internal communications to encourage and support reporting within the organisation;
 Professional Standards continues to hold bi-monthly meetings with Divisional Support Superintendents to maintain oversight of matters allocated to them by PSD NGAU and to discuss ongoing enquiries, including matters assessed to be ‘protected disclosures’ as per PIDA 1988;
 A scoping exercise has been undertaken with English and Welsh Forces which supported the refresh and rebranding of PSoS Whistleblowing Guidance and associated Policy. The ‘Reporting Wrongdoing (Whistleblowing)’ Guidance and Policy is now in the final stages of consultation prior to publication;
 PSD continues to support Police Scotland’s ‘Policing Together’ strategy, which supports the service-wide drive to raise awareness of the organisation's values of integrity, fairness and respect, and a commitment to upholding human rights. Examples of this include the publication of misconduct outcomes and a programme of activity which focuses on maintaining our Standards of Professional Behaviour, encouraging officers and members of police staff to challenge inappropriate behaviours and to report same to line managers or to PSD.
 PSD NGAU delivered a presentation to our staff associations explaining the role of PSD National Gateway Assessment Unit (NGAU) which included information relating to reporting wrongdoing and protected disclosures.