Building trust

Local oversight promotes community engagement and fosters positive relationships. Elected representatives raise concerns, advocate for change, and ensure that the police are operating in line with the democratic values and principles of the community. Local oversight allows for dialogue and collaboration between local residents, community groups, and the police, which can help build trust, improve communication, and enhance cooperation in tackling crime and maintaining public safety. Local oversight compliments and adds considerable value to the national oversight of the Scottish Police Authority.

In 2021 the Authority, COSLA and Police Scotland undertook a tripartite review of local police oversight, to identify areas of development and best practice which could then inform future local oversight processes. The review generated a series of recommendations, covering the sharing of good practice, widening engagement processes for the development of local plans, alignment and synergy of plans at a local level, making best use of all local data to inform local priorities, and enhancing data availability. Following the review, the SPA and COSLA published a joint framework document to support Elected Members in their scrutiny of Local Police Plans. 

Different areas have unique policing needs and priorities. Local oversight encourages the development of policing strategies that are tailored to address local issues and needs. It allows local authorities and community representatives to determine their own policing priorities and strategies within the national policing framework.