Labour review of Police Scotland calls for scrutiny and transparency

A Labour Party review of Police Scotland has concluded it needs greater scrutiny and lacks transparency.

Graeme Pearson, author of the review and justice spokesman for the party said the force must be made more accountable and that the link between police and communities is broken.

Mr Pearson, a former deputy chief constable, spokes to officers, the public, staff and community groups around Scotland when compiling his Review of Policing Scotland.

He called for a “shake-up” following the centralisation of services that occurred with the creation of Police Scotland.

The report was published in the wake of various controversial incidents involving the police that have led to questions over how well the single force is governed.

He described the M9 crash incident in which police failed to act on a call about a car crash, resulting in the deaths of Lamara Bell and John Yuill as “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

Other controversies include so-called “consensual” stop and search, the deployment of armed officers on routine patrols and the death of Sheku Bayoh in police custody earlier this year.

Mr Pearson said: “During my meetings across the country, local people told me that the link between their communities and bobbies on the beat has been lost, despite the hard work and dedication of frontline officers.

“Those officers feel the breakdown too. The recent Police Scotland staff survey reported that officers feel they are losing touch with local people because of the ‘one-size-fits-all’ policing model.”

He made a number of recommendations meant to improve performance and strengthen the single force’s accountability.

Among them were the creation of a committee responsible for the preparedness of the police and other emergency services.

He also recommended local committees have a stronger link to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), with committee convenors being given a right of audience on the SPA board.

The Police Investigation and Review Commissioner (PIRC) should also have sole responsibility for investigations into allegations of criminality and misconduct in the police he said in the report.

Mr Pearson added: “Two years from its creation, Police Scotland needs a shake-up so that power again lies with local decision makers and we get back to the kind of community policing that made Scotland the envy of the world.”

However, the Scottish government rejected the criticisms, arguing Mr Pearson was a hypocrite.

A spokesman for Justice Secretary Michael Matheson told The Herald: “Policing in Scotland is built on strong foundations and Graeme Pearson’s attack is hypocritical given that his Labour Party fully backed the creation of a single police force in the face of Tory government budget cuts from Westminster.”