PERSONALITY clashes at the top of Police Scotland undermined the single service’s early years, a committee of MSPs has claimed.
The single force, created in 2013 after a merger between eight regional services, is on to its third Chief Constable in less than six years.
Last year, Holyrood’s Justice Committee launched an inquiry to establish whether the reform of Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service had delivered.
The politicians claim poor financial management, IT problems, unclear lines of responsibility and a failure to focus on the views of officers and staff in the early stages of reform “lie at the root of many of the problems faced by Police Scotland.”
But the committee also said the single services had “transformed” and improved the way rape, murder and national threats are dealt with.
In their report, MSPs say that the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), which oversees the force, and Police Scotland itself should demonstrate that “recent improvements in their leadership and governance mean that previous shortcomings caused by personality issues could not reoccur.”
Recommendations include calls to overhaul the police complaints process and for the SPA to “take a more proactive role in its oversight and scrutiny” of new policies.
Another calls for the police to be more “robust” with their financial projections.
The committee also describes the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s “retained duty service” as no longer fit for purpose.
Committee convener Margaret Mitchell MSP said: “Our police and fire services do a vital job keeping people in Scotland safe. It is imperative that the structures and regulations underpinning these organisations work well. Reform of these frontline public services is one of the biggest challenges undertaken since the start of devolution in Scotland. It is in everyone’s interest that they succeed.”
Justice secretary Humza Yousaf said he was grateful to the committee, commenting: “It has rightly recognised some significant achievements, including the creation of national capabilities in policing, described as ‘a success story for Scotland’ and improvements in how Police Scotland deals with sexual offences.
“This has been delivered alongside the Scottish Government’s commitment to protect Police Scotland’s revenue budget during this parliament to deliver a total boost of £100 million by 2021 and the announcement of a 6.5% pay deal for officers.”
“The report also makes a number of recommendations which ministers plan to consider in full, alongside Police Scotland, SPA and SFRS over the coming months.
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