POLICE Scotland’s civilian watchdog has been heavily criticised in a report.
It found there is “no clear vision, strategy or plan in place” for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and that the chairwoman and a number of board members are acting “well outwith their core non-executive roles”, contrary to their agreed job descriptions and guidelines.
The HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) report also said “limited progress” had been made in tackling structural issues and a “conflict of interest” is caused by the SPA being both a service provider to and scrutiny body of Police Scotland.
SPA chairwoman Susan Deacon defended the organisation, saying: “The SPA board is actively taking forward a range of work to progress improvements in the leadership and governance of policing, much of which is actively addressing issues identified in the HMICS report.
“We are committed to continuing to work closely with a range of partners including the Scottish Government to accelerate the pace of change and improvement and to ensure that the authority is able to carry out its functions effectively as envisaged in the legislation.”
Scottish Liberal Democrats justice spokesman Liam McArthur said the report highlighted a need for a new corporate structure at the SPA, as well as a review of the roles of the chair and board members.
“The Scottish Government and SPA must now lay out a timetable for this to take place,” he said.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel