Report Summary
HMICFRS recently published an annual assessment of policing in England and Wales, with this report noting findings and recommendations relevant to Scotland, as well as an outline of related oversight provided by the Authority.
Future Oversight by the Authority
Policing Together, the Police Scotland EDI Strategy, was agreed in September 2022 and will be reported regularly through People Committee. Metrics relevant to this strategy have been incorporated to the Performance Framework presented to PPC in June 2023.
Police Scotland brought an update on its Local Policing Service Delivery Review to June 2023 PPC, outlining pilot work underway to gather user insights which will inform a collaborative redesign of local policing provision. Further updates on the work of the review will be presented to the Authority and Policing Performance Committee.
The Authority’s Community Confidence Action Research reports on community confidence in policing in areas across Scotland, with key findings (such as a lack of visible policing within the area) drawing parallels to areas raised in the HMICFRS report. The project continues to publish outputs which are published publicly on the Authority’s website.
The Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill is currently at Stage 1 in the Scottish Parliament. Whilst this would have limited direct implications for the Authority, this Bill seeks to improve the experience of victims within the criminal justice system.
The Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill is currently at Stage 1 in the Scottish Parliament. This Bill requires the police to have a code of ethics, to make changes with regards to the handling of police misconduct, to increase the functions of the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) and to introduce advisory board for the commissioner.
An item is being brought to July Change Board which will bring a collated a view of all legislation currently in progress which will have an impact on Police Scotland, including the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021. This should may be considered by the Authority at future meetings.
HMICS are conducting a Thematic Inspection of Organisational Culture. The Terms of Reference confirms the key objective to “assure quality of vetting & renewals & whether these effectively identify potential misconduct” and will consider issues identified in the HMICFRS inspection of vetting, misconduct, and misogyny in the police service. Specific findings with regards to vetting are likely to be published ahead of broader inspection report and are due in July 2023.
