Category Archives: Policing

Government, Justice, Policing, Scotland, Society

Justice has been forgotten, say furious police

POLICE SCOTLAND

OFFICERS have warned that justice has been “largely forgotten” during the pandemic in a bombshell report on the police service.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) insists victims are “of lesser importance” than criminals, with a seven-year backlog meaning many cases will not come to court. The federation represents officers up to and including the rank of chief inspector, some 98% of the force.

The blistering attack has been made by frontline officers in a written submission to Holyrood’s justice committee.

Critics accused the SNP Government of a “soft-touch approach to justice”.

Emergency laws were brought in last year cracking down on travel and large house parties to limit the spread of coronavirus. But the federation warns the move simply “stoked up tensions”, while the impact of the pandemic meant suspects have evaded justice.

In the damning submission, published within the last few days, general secretary Calum Steele said: “The administration of justice has largely been forgotten about during this pandemic. Prisoners were released, suspects for serious offences were rarely kept in custody, those who assaulted police officers were often home in their beds before the officers themselves finished work.

“Politicians played fast and loose with their language, stoking up tensions on issues like mass gatherings, in the full knowledge this made the policing of such events more challenging.

“Victims of crime were considered of lesser importance than the perpetrators of crime in the policies that fell from the Covid response.”

Criticising Police Scotland, he said: “Despite a number of internal warnings before the pandemic was declared, the service failed to respond timeously. The internal bureaucracy and turgid decision-making meant the police service was on the back foot.”

Police officers had been “unnecessarily exposed to enhanced risk of contracting the virus as a direct result of their duties.”

He added that emergency laws brought in to limit social contact during the first wave were “opaque and often unenforceable”. He said: “Police officers have throughout this pandemic felt neglected and unsupported by government.”

There is no doubt, that police officers and staff have given unstinting public service during the pandemic. This bombshell submission has openly revealed the burden they have carried throughout Covid.

However, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We do not recognise, and disagree with, much of the content of this submission [by the Scottish Police Federation]. Public trust and confidence in policing has remained strong throughout the pandemic as officers and staff stepped forward with commitment and professionalism to tackle the spread of coronavirus.”

The Scottish Government said: “No one should be the victim of abuse or violence at work. Assaults on police officers are despicable and the Scottish Government fully supports courts having their current extensive powers to deal robustly with perpetrators.”

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Government, Policing, Scotland, Society

View of policing is ‘old-fashioned’

POLICE SCOTLAND

A POLICE watchdog has said the idea that policing is solely about law enforcement is “old-fashioned”.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland Gill Imery said maintaining the view that the job of police officers was confined to catching criminals was a “stunted” belief.

She has spoken out amid concern over the expanding range of duties officers have beyond enforcing the law, such as administering naloxone to save overdosing drug addicts.

However, the comments come following an explosion in rape cases and an increase in violent offending, with prosecutors admitting there is “absolutely no sign” of a sustained fall in serious crime.

Speaking at a recent meeting of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), Mrs Imery said: “It’s an old-fashioned and a stunted view of policing to think that it is limited to law enforcement.

“Police Scotland have done a huge amount to demonstrate a much wider responsibility of policing – a much wider desire to impact in a positive way on people’s life chances and life choices.”

Backing the use of naloxone by officers to treat overdosing addicts, Mrs Imery said: “I think it is hugely positive on the part of Police Scotland to take that step to prevent harm and ultimately loss of life, which I think is absolutely integral to the purpose of police constables.”

In July it emerged that police administered an anti-overdose treatment to one person a week on average during the first three months of carrying the therapy. Officers in Falkirk, Dundee and Glasgow East had been equipped with naloxone since March 1 as part of a six-month pilot project.

The move came amid a rise in drug deaths to record levels, with Scotland having the worst drug-related facilities in the EU.

Police Scotland said earlier this year that drug related crime is to be considered a public health problem as the force vowed to “drive national improvements in health and wellbeing”.

It announced a partnership with government health quango Public Health Scotland (PHS) in a bid to prevent offending by working with the NHS and others to tackle poor health, “health inequality” and other issues.

Police in Scotland are also keen to adopt a “trauma-informed” approach – taking into account the welfare of suspects and criminals.

Some police officers have criticised this approach, with one officer saying the “hypothesis that reducing trauma prevents crime isn’t backed up by credible evidence” – and condemned the strategy as “motherhood and apple pie”.

Last month, figures showed the number of rapes reported to police had risen by nearly 35 per cent in a year, as sex crime soared to the highest level for six years.

Violent offending overall shot up by nearly 13 per cent in the past year, according to Police Scotland.

Prosecutors have admitted there is “absolutely no sign” of a sustained fall in serious crime. The Scottish Government claims Scotland is becoming safer.

David Hamilton, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, representing rank and file officers, said: “I don’t think anyone disagrees with Gill Imery that policing is and should be about more than just law enforcement, but it remains our primary function.

“As the service of last resort, we are increasingly having to pick up where others have failed, and the danger is that we commit or overstretch ourselves filling those gaps.

“Officers are concerned that we are already having to fulfil additional roles such as educators, paramedics, social workers and mental health nurses.”

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. Half of police officers in Scotland want to be issued with a firearm whilst on duty

MORE than half of Scotland’s police officers want to be issued with a handgun as part of their safety equipment, a survey has indicated.

In the past three months, 22 per cent of officers have been the victim of assault while on duty, prompting calls for extra measures to ensure their protection.

A survey carried out by the Scottish Police Federation has found that 53 per cent of Police Scotland rank and file would like access to a handgun.

A further 7 per cent of officers said they would like to be trained to use the weapon in case it was necessary.

Of the nearly 1,700 questioned, 47 per cent said they did not want to carry handguns and 37 per cent indicated they would not like to be trained in their use.

However, 84 per cent said they would be happy to carry Tasers.

Scottish Police Federation chairman David Hamilton said: “This demonstrates not just the frequency of attacks but the gravity of them, too.

“Officers consider knives to be the greatest risk to them and firearms are the appropriate last defence to being attacked by such lethal weapons.”

A spokesperson for Gun Control Network said that unless there was a change in (policing) culture society would become too much like America where guns are drawn for any reason – and that is not the way policing has been conducted in the UK. Insisting that it certainly wouldn’t protect the public any more, the Network says that the implications are much wider than what it means to an individual officer on duty.

In 2018, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) condemned an action by Police Scotland which saw officers point guns at 11 people during an “unwarranted” operation.

The force later apologised to eight people – including two women who were strip-searched. In 2016, shoppers in Dingwall, Ross-shire, spoke of their shock when they saw four officers armed with handguns sitting down to breakfast in a café.

The force’s Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams said: “There are no plans to move away from being an unarmed service which has an armed capability.

“Being assaulted should never be part of the job and tackling the concerning trend of increasing assaults on officers and staff is a priority. The Chief Constable has underlined his commitment to achieving this goal by providing people with the tools they need to do their jobs.

“Recently, we have improved our infrastructure to support an enhanced roll-out of Taser and work is under way to uplift the number of Taser-trained officers by 1,500 over the next three years.”

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Government, Policing, Scotland

Staffing crisis in Police Scotland as hundreds quit crisis-hit force

POLICE SCOTLAND

HUNDREDS of probationary police officers have quit Police Scotland less than three years after signing up. Growing fears over plummeting morale in the crisis-hit force amidst several investigations into claims of bullying lays bare the huge task now facing police chiefs.

According to newly released figures, 269 have resigned since 2013, with more than 130 leaving within 12 months of joining the service. The statistics, released under freedom of information legislation, suggests soaring stress levels and a serious issue with morale.

This latest set of data comes just weeks after Chief Constable Phil Gormley, who faced several investigations into bullying claims which he denied, quit the force. Several senior officers are still suspended over allegations of bullying, intimidation and wrongdoing.

Figures obtained under FOI show that 139 probationers left in their first year, 89 resigned before completing two years and 41 quit within three years.

Officers complete their probation after two years, but this can be extended to three years if they take agreed time off – or fail to satisfactorily complete assessments.

Some politicians argue that officers and staff have paid the price for the SNP’s botched centralisation of the single force. They say this is one reason why we need an independent and expert review of policing.

While officials could not reveal why probationers had left, it is understood the reasons include performance, personal circumstances, failing to meet standards on fitness and health, or after deciding that policing was not the career for them.

There were claims in Scotland last year that a policewoman had quit the force after three years “in her dream job” because she was “physically and emotionally exhausted” and close to a “nervous breakdown”. It was said the young officer had to deal with “relentless ten-hour shifts and never-ending paperwork.”

Other officers who have been in touch with the Scottish Police Federation, the force’s governing body, have revealed there are serious safety concerns and stress levels are “through the roof”.

Police Scotland has recently introduced Your Wellbeing Matters, with more than 170 wellbeing champions now available in divisions across the country. This is being developed to provide a full range of support including specialist, confidential guidance, advice and other practical measures.

– Nearly 1,500 applicants fail fitness test

A TOTAL of 1,480 people who applied to become police officers in Scotland in the past three years have been rejected after failing initial fitness tests.

In the financial year 2016-17 alone, 4,489 took the Police Scotland fitness assessment and 686 were rejected.

The figures, part of the FOI request, show that in the period from 2014-15 to 2016-17, 14 per cent of would-be police officers failed to meet the standard.

A senior police officer from the force’s training department said: “The testing of fitness is carried out to ensure potential and probationary officers are fit to undertake the role of constable. Where applicants fail to achieve the required standard, they may re-apply following a period of time.”

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