Police

More than 40 police buildings could be disposed of as Police Scotland deals with budget cuts. New proposals would see 29 stations and buildings scrapped, with the savings reinvested into the single force.

Police officers and staff are under-reporting misconduct because of a lack of confidence in Police Scotland processes, according to a new report. An inspection by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) found that misconduct and grievance processes are "perceived as lacking openness, tra

There will be no criminal action taken over an alleged rape at Police Scotland's training campus. The single force launched an investigation last October after it was given a report of a serious sexual offence at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have called on the Scottish government to protect the justice budget and enhance community policing after new research found that less than half of violent assaults resulted in a criminal charge being reported to the Crown Office last year. Scottish Liberal Democrat re

Scotland's police service is institutionally racist, its new chief constable has said. Jo Farrell endorsed the statement of her predecessor, Sir Iain Livingstone, that the single force had a racism problem. Before his retirement in May he said that Police Scotland “is institutionally racist an

Views are being sought by the Criminal Justice Committee on a new bill which aims to strengthen public confidence in policing in Scotland and ensure investigations into police misconduct are more transparent and effective. The Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill would require the p

Police Scotland officers are to receive a seven per cent increase to pay and allowances backdated to 1 April 2023. The pay deal for 2023/24 means there has been a cumulative 12.35 per cent increase in police officer pay since 1 April 2022, which mirrors wage growth for the fire service and teachers.

Police Scotland are to stop investigating certain crimes in a new 'pilot scheme' in the North East due to a lack of resources. Where crimes are reported where there is "no associated threat, risk, harm or vulnerability and also no proportionate lines of enquiry for local police officers to investiga

Figures have revealed that Tasers were used on 41 children over the past year by police officers, sparking demands for a ban on the devices in situations involving under-18s. The use of the weapons on children rose by 17 per cent from the previous year, a new report shows.

The Scottish Police Authority has announced that Jo Farrell will be Police Scotland’s next chief constable following Sir Iain Livingstone QPM’s decision to retire this August. She has been chief constable of Durham Constabulary since 2019 having been deputy at Durham since 2016 and havin

Proposed new laws intended to strengthen public confidence in standards of police conduct have been published. The Scottish government’s Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill has been introduced to Holyrood with the aim of ensuring allegations of misconduct are dealt with more

Sir Iain Livingstone, Police Scotland's chief constable, has admitted that the single force is institutionally racist and discriminatory. The revelation follows a review that revealed instances of racism, sexism, and homophobia by active officers. Reports of staff facing repercussions for flagging t

Police Scotland has been ordered to explain why it concluded that there was no crime committed in the case of a former kirk minister involved in defrauding three brothers out of £1 million. The force has been told to review its lack of action by the Police Investigations & Review Commissio

One of Scotland's central police control rooms used a fake system to manipulate response time targets – for eight years. Documents seen by the BBC show that thousands of calls to the Bilston Glen control room were allocated to a fake call sign known as DUMY.

Security forces across the world are increasingly misusing rubber and plastic bullets and other law enforcement weapons to violently suppress peaceful protests, causing horrific injuries and deaths, human rights campaigners have said. In a jointly-produced 48-page report titled My Eye Exploded, Amne