Chair's Foreward

Policing is an essential and effective public service, operating in a pressured and highly visible environment, under challenging financial constraints, to improve the safety and wellbeing of people, places and communities in Scotland.

The 2022-23 Annual Report and Accounts explains what has been achieved during the year and concludes that operational performance was once again very good. Police Scotland demonstrated their strength in service delivery in both large scale efforts such as the policing of the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II, and in the day-to-day delivery of effective policing services to Scotland’s communities.

Forensic Services continued to adapt to meet increasing demands and new responsibilities. The Service is very highly regarded and provides some the world’s best DNA analysis among its many accredited and essential services to Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The transfer of post-mortem toxicology services from the University of Glasgow to Forensic Services was delivered as planned during the year. Demand for testing and analysis of drug driving samples outstripped the capacity to deliver over the year. Significant effort, leadership, additional scrutiny and investment has addressed this demand in the short term and work continues with key stakeholders across the justice sector to identify a long-term solution.

The financial constraints being faced across the public sector are replicated across policing. A balanced budget has been set and achieved for the second year running thanks to robust financial management and controls. We continue to make the case for additional investment in our estate and technology to meet the needs of the modern, responsive, and effective public service that our workforce and communities deserve.

Policing is one of Scotland’s only public services to have undergone significant strategic reform over the past 10-years. This year also marked a decade since the establishment of the single police service. The demands on policing have changed dramatically over this time. Crime in the public space has reduced while cyber enabled crime and fraud has grown. With increasing complexity and vulnerability, policing is having to adapt and change rapidly just to keep up. Financial constraints have made the pace slower than we need.

Despite the challenges, and the further change required at pace, we look back with conviction knowing that Police Scotland and Forensic Services have delivered a service
that is better than anything that preceded it. The single police service provides a solid foundation for reform and improvement to continue.

In May 2023, as Chief Constable, Sir Iain Livingstone acknowledged the existence of institutional discrimination within Police Scotland. Recognising that the processes, attitudes, and behaviours of an organisation are discriminatory - however unconsciously that may be - is the crucial next step for effective organisational development.

This marks a significant milestone for policing – one that moves the focus from continually describing a problem to considering what and how we address it.

We are grateful to Sir Iain Livingstone for his leadership, courage, and commitment to policing over the last 30-years. He has left a reformed Police Scotland in a very strong
position as a national asset and a confident human rights-based service. We wish him well for the future following his retirement in August 2023.

As we look forward, maintaining a balanced budget position will require hard choices on prioritisation of services. Developing the culture and addressing discrimination will take leadership, momentum, sustained oversight, and support from the entire workforce. We have appointed Chief Constable Jo Farrell as the next Chief Constable of Police Scotland. She takes post in October 2023 and joins from a service that is judged as outstanding. We have full confidence that she and the wider leadership team can continue to build on the improvements we have seen in policing over the last decade.

Finally, and most importantly, I want to express my deepest thanks to every single police officer and member of staff for their continued contribution and dedication to delivering
this essential public service. The very first line of assurance for the Authority is the quality and values of our workforce. Even in the face of adversity, I continue to be impressed by
the commitment to public service and resilience of those working across policing.

Martyn Evans
Chair
26 October 2023