tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/police-scotland-9829/articlesPolice Scotland – The Conversation2023-04-19T11:22:07Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2038122023-04-19T11:22:07Z2023-04-19T11:22:07ZPolice Scotland: the UK’s second-largest force is also grappling with misogyny and racism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521288/original/file-20230417-20-ak85oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=194%2C35%2C5670%2C3927&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/police-officer-on-duty-city-centre-1096573532">Loch Earn/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A damning report published in March found the UK’s largest police force rife with ill-treatment of women, ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ officers. Louise Casey found London’s Metropolitan Police to be “institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic”, and recommended radical reform – or breaking up the Met.</p>
<p>Police Scotland, the UK’s second-largest force, may not face a crisis in public trust and confidence of the same scale. But it is not immune to the Casey review’s findings. Scottish policing has a history of complacency concerning equality, diversity and inclusion. </p>
<p>Following the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, police leaders <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dr-Kath-Murray/publication/280566869_Losing_count_The_missing_history_of_stop_and_search_in_Scotland/links/55ba323508ae9289a0926b3c/Losing-count-The-missing-history-of-stop-and-search-in-Scotland.pdf?origin=publication_detail">did not consider racism</a> to be a problem in Scotland’s policing. As a result, they did not implement the recommendations on stop and search that were introduced in England and Wales.</p>
<p>Yet the 1998 murder of Surjit Singh Chhokar and the subsequent failings in prosecution drew comparisons with the Stephen Lawrence case. Successive inquiries found the prosecution and the police to be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/05/man-found-guilty-murder-surjit-singh-chhokar-ronnie-coulter-retrial">institutionally racist</a>. </p>
<p>An inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh in police custody in 2015 is still underway. Bayoh’s family has repeatedly insisted his death was a consequence of disproportionate use of force and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/09/sheku-bayoh-senior-officer-shrugged-shoulders-when-confronted-over-death-inquiry-told">motivated by racial bias</a>. </p>
<p>In response to the Casey report, policing leaders in Scotland <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-scotland-not-same-area-29518688">defended Scottish policing</a> as different from the Met. The Scottish Police Federation said that the force had a “vigorous” approach to handling misconduct that sets it apart from the UK’s other forces. </p>
<p>But in 2020, an <a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/independent-review-complaints-handling-investigations-misconduct-issues-relation-policing/pages/0/">independent review</a> expressed concerns about Police Scotland’s handling of complaints, misconduct and whistleblowing processes. Elish Angiolini recommended a “broader, fundamental review of equality matters by an independent organisation”. </p>
<p>As of <a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/complaints-investigations-misconduct-policing-implementation-recommendations-progress-report-december-2022/pages/2/">December 2022</a>, 55 out of 111 recommendations were signed off as completed. For recommendations requiring legislative changes, the Scottish government held a <a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/police-complaints-investigations-misconduct-analysis-consultation-legislation/">formal consultation</a> in the summer of 2022, which received only 55 responses. But there was broad agreement that proposed legislative changes would improve transparency and impartiality in policing. </p>
<h2>Recruitment and retention</h2>
<p>Police Scotland continues to recruit fewer female officers and officers from minority ethnic backgrounds. Meanwhile, a higher proportion of officers from minority backgrounds continue to leave the force. </p>
<p>A 2021 <a href="https://www.hmics.scot/sites/default/files/publications/HMICS20211020PUB.pdf">small-scale survey</a> commissioned by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) as part of an inspection of police training and development, found that first-line and middle managers were often involved in instances of bullying, harassment, misogyny and racism. Or they were on friendly terms with those who engaged in this behaviour, leaving little room for victims to speak out.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.hmics.scot/sites/default/files/publications/HMICS20211020PUB.pdf">HMICS</a> inspection also found that the representation of black and minority ethnic officers has never risen above 1%, compared with a 4% share of the Scottish population. Women are also underrepresented in the workforce – 32% compared to 51.5% of the general population. </p>
<p>Retention data shows that between 2019-20, of the 865 officers who left Police Scotland, 2% were black and minority ethnic and 24% were female. </p>
<p>And of the minority ethnic officers who left the force, 86% resigned. Six out of seven left during their probation. Black or minority ethnic respondents to the HMICS survey said they faced obstacles in promotion due to a culture of <a href="https://www.hmics.scot/sites/default/files/publications/HMICS20211020PUB.pdf">nepotism and a lack of equal opportunity</a>. </p>
<p>There is not a single officer from a minority ethnic background in Police Scotland’s <a href="https://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/who-we-are/executive-team/">senior executive team</a> and female officers continue to be underrepresented in senior ranks. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/misogyny-in-policing-how-some-male-officers-abuse-their-power-over-female-victims-and-colleagues-199551">Misogyny in policing: how some male officers abuse their power over female victims and colleagues</a>
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<p>In 2022, a group of female former officers cautioned Keith Brown, then justice secretary, <a href="https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/misogyny-in-police-scotland/">that more women would leave policing</a> without urgent action to address sexism within the force.</p>
<p>Several female former officers have come forward with <a href="https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/police-scotland-met-report/">reports</a> of <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/former-cop-breaks-silence-after-12487846">sexist bullying</a> in the police. In 2018, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-45210397">two former officers</a> urged Police Scotland to do more to tackle sexism within the force. In response, Chief Constable Iain Livingstone refuted any suggestions of a deep-rooted problem as “unfair”. </p>
<h2>Weak accountability</h2>
<p>In 2013, Scotland’s local police forces were merged into one, and the Scottish Police Authority was created to replace local police boards. This change in structure meant that the formal responsibility of holding Scottish policing to account rests with one body, which does not have the <a href="https://euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/scot.2022.0417">capacity or autonomy</a> to do this effectively. This, coupled with a lack of formal powers for local democratic oversight of policing, has resulted in weak and lopsided police governance in Scotland.</p>
<p>So far, the Scottish Police Authority has taken a back seat, deferring to Police Scotland and the Scottish government to implement recommendations related to equality and diversity, including those outlined in the Angiolini review. </p>
<p>And the Scottish Police Authority’s own <a href="https://www.spa.police.uk/about-us/the-board/">board</a> and senior executive team lacks any representation from minority ethnic backgrounds. </p>
<p>Police Scotland established an <a href="https://www.spa.police.uk/spa-media/g4if5ri0/rep-b-20220929-item-9-equality-diversity-inclusion-and-human-rights-independent-review-group.pdf">independent review group</a> in 2021 to assist the organisation with matters of equality, alongside the ongoing Sheku Bayoh <a href="https://www.shekubayohinquiry.scot/">inquiry</a>. The group is yet to report on its findings but is expected to submit a report to the police authority in late 2023. In the first six months, five members stepped down from the group citing competing work commitments. </p>
<p>HMICS has also committed to conducting a review of Police Scotland’s <a href="https://www.hmics.scot/sites/default/files/publications/HMICS20230110TOR.pdf">organisational culture</a> in 2023.</p>
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<img alt="Exterior of Police Scotland Clyde Gateway building, a square, modern building with large glass windows reflecting a blue sky" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521297/original/file-20230417-20-5yul24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521297/original/file-20230417-20-5yul24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521297/original/file-20230417-20-5yul24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521297/original/file-20230417-20-5yul24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521297/original/file-20230417-20-5yul24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521297/original/file-20230417-20-5yul24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521297/original/file-20230417-20-5yul24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The headquarters of Scotland’s sole police force.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/glasgow-scotland-august-08-2017-police-700142695">Cornfield/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s new first minister, has started his leadership of the Scottish National Party under <a href="https://theconversation.com/snp-a-difficult-day-for-the-party-who-is-peter-murrell-and-what-are-the-circumstances-of-his-arrest-203401">challenging circumstances</a>. </p>
<p>The first minister will have several party-specific issues dividing his attention, including <a href="https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/snp-annus-horribilis/">a lack of transparency</a> or rigorous accountability in the party. But improvements in equality, diversity and inclusion in Scottish policing also need to be a priority. This means fully implementing the recommendations of the Angiolini review and addressing the imbalance in current police governance.</p>
<p>The problems in Scottish policing are not at the level of the Met. But continued public confidence and trust cannot be taken for granted. Police forces across the UK need to tackle racism, misogyny and bullying within their ranks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203812/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ali Malik does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Scottish police leaders have insisted the force is distinct from policing elsewhere in the UK.Ali Malik, Lecturer in Criminal Justice, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1148372019-05-07T15:48:27Z2019-05-07T15:48:27ZFighting knife crime: if police worked closely with academic experts, they’d be less gung-ho about stop and search<p>It has been a busy few days in the fierce debate about addressing the <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/uk-knife-crime-statistics-stabbing-numbers-london-explained/">knife crime problem</a> in England and Wales. London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/london-crime-stop-and-search-stabbing-murder-cressida-dick-a8896761.html">unveiled</a> year-on-year declines in knife crime and homicides in the capital for the year ended March, and claimed it was thanks to more police stop and search. Just days earlier, the College of Policing, which oversees police standards in England and Wales, said more or less the opposite about the tactic. Stop and search, it said, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/26/stop-search-could-increase-knife-crime-college-police-warns/">risks</a> aggrieving people subjected to it and making them more likely to commit violent crimes down the line; instead, it wants England and Wales to adopt the more progressive approach to policing that has emerged in Scotland. </p>
<p>Knife crime rates have certainly been a political cause célèbre in recent months. The official 2017-18 <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/homicideinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2018#highest-number-of-sharp-instrument-homicides-seen-in-year-ending-march-2018">figures</a> for England and Wales were the highest since records began: homicides up by around a third year-on-year to 285, and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42749089">total knife offences</a> rising close to 40,000. With London a large contributor to these numbers, its new figures – out earlier than everywhere else – are quite a contrast. Homicides are down by a quarter, while knife-related injuries are down 10%. </p>
<p>It comes only weeks after Sajid Javid, the home secretary, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/greater-powers-for-police-to-use-stop-and-search-to-tackle-violent-crime">made it easier</a> for police to use stop and search. In particular, he loosened <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/14/stop-and-search-metropolitan-police-sajid-javid">the rules</a> around “Section 60” searches, which in certain circumstances – such as public events – can be mandated by senior police to allow officers to get around the rule that they must have reasonable suspicion that the person to be searched is carrying an offensive weapon. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/knife-crime-causes-and-solutions-editors-guide-to-what-our-academic-experts-say-113318">Knife crime: causes and solutions – editors' guide to what our academic experts say</a>
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<p>The new London figures appear to vindicate these measures to make stop and search easier, but it’s not actually that simple. The fall in knife crime may turn out to be blip, since annual figures are notoriously changeable, and a correlation with increased stop and search doesn’t necessarily mean causation. There is plenty of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/58/5/1212/4827589">evidence</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-police-stop-and-search-wont-stop-knife-crime-heres-why-90572">support</a> the College of Policing’s argument that the stop and search measures are a step in the wrong direction. At this stage, it’s hard to say anything conclusive. </p>
<p>If these subtleties appear to have been lost on Dick and Javid, it points to an important difference with how police policy has developed in Scotland in the past five years: academics have been allowed to play a major role in the Scottish reform process. This is one reason why Scotland has taken a more progressive approach to policing and stop and search to the one being pursued in London. This has been <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-45572691">achieved without</a> any noticeable rise in the violent crime figures, while there is <a href="http://www.esytc.ed.ac.uk/findings/published">certainly</a> a case to be made that this will <a href="https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/files/17725465/Justice_for_young_people_web.pdf">benefit relations</a> between police and young people. </p>
<p>The College of Policing wants something similar adopted in England and Wales, along with the philosophy of the Glasgow-based Violence Reduction Unit, which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/14/scotland-knife-crime-public-health-issue-violence-uk">has championed</a> viewing violent crime as a “disease” that needs to be treated at source to stop it from spreading. To properly inform the debate about policing in England and Wales, however, it’s important to understand how the involvement of academics in Scotland has played out. </p>
<h2>Scotland’s journey</h2>
<p>Prior to 2015, Scottish stop and search <a href="https://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Stop_and_Search_in_Scotland1.pdf">rates were</a> four times higher per capita than England and Wales. This flew under the radar because police often did it with the “permission” of the person they wanted to search. Like Section 60 searches south of the border, obtaining “consent” was a way for Scottish police to avoid the need for reasonable suspicion. Kath Murray brought this to light as part of her <a href="https://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Stop-and-search-in-Scotland.-A-post-reform-overview-22ndJune2015.pdf">PhD research</a>. Particularly worrying, searches involved disproportionate numbers of children, whose permission seemed the most dubious of all.</p>
<p>Police Scotland <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1748895816685766">tried to deny there was</a> a problem, before subsequently bowing to pressure and exploring reforms. For example, it piloted a more restrictive stop and search approach in the Fife region in late 2014, and asked us <a href="http://www.sipr.ac.uk/Plugin/Publications/assets/files/Stop_and_Search_Pilot_Evaluation_Report.pdf">to conduct</a> an independent evaluation. We <a href="http://www.maklu-online.eu/en/tijdschrift/ejps/volume-5/special-issue-changes-policing-improve-service-del/changing-stop-and-search-scotland/">found</a> elements of good practice, but also that police were still overly reliant on consensual searches and disproportionately targeted youngsters. We recommended scrapping the practice and moving away from confrontational searches towards more preventative policing that was much more engaged with community groups and other interested players. </p>
<p>The Scottish government created an <a href="https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20170105091226/www.gov.scot/About/Review/stopandsearch">independent advisory group</a> to investigate these issues the following year, which used our report as part of the evidence. The group, which included prominent academics,
<a href="https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20170105121141/http://www.gov.scot/About/Review/stopandsearch/Report?refresh=0.12071063809197169">recommended</a> a code of practice for stop and search and an end to consensual searches. The government implemented both recommendations in the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2016/1/contents/enacted">Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Police stop and search has declined in Scotland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Police Scotland</span></span>
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<p>Police Scotland, meanwhile, <a href="https://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/138327/306184/416786/sipr-report-response?view=Standard">accepted</a> all 19 of our recommendations. It set up an internal governance structure to oversee the new regime, <a href="https://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/138327/306184/stop-and-search-improvement-plan-2015-16-interim-consensual-phaseii-october-2015">involving</a> academic researchers throughout. Most prominent was a research group, which included ourselves, Murray and others. We met roughly every six weeks from 2015-18, consulting on every stage of the <a href="https://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/138327/306184/327483/stop-and-search-improvement-plan">reform process</a>. We wouldn’t claim the arrangement was perfect, nor that we completely agreed with every police decision, but we think the process has helped to forge a more collaborative policing system that engages with partners and communities and focuses less on target-driven reactive methods. </p>
<p>It can be a challenge to play the role of “critical friends” when you are so frequently in contact with an organisation like the police, but it can be done if you are vigilant about academic independence. As shown in <a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/U/bo13441009.html">previous studies</a>, such a two-way flow of information is the best way to get people in public services to fully consider research findings in their decision making. </p>
<p>The police reform process incorporated research, for example, that gave a voice to frontline officers, as well as people who experience stop and search. Both groups <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1748895819839751">are usually</a> ignored when senior officers make policy decisions. All the extra police contact can also inform research: we have already conducted <a href="http://www.sipr.ac.uk/Plugin/Publications/assets/files/Review_methods_of_visible_policing_and_public_confidence_Hail_%20Aston_%20O'Neill.pdf">a review</a> of how visible policing affects public confidence, while one of us is supervising a PhD on the cultural changes involved in Scotland’s stop and search journey. </p>
<p>The Home Office needs to look at how to incorporate a similar two-way approach in England and Wales. There are signs that academic researchers are influencing certain aspects of policing south of the border: the <a href="https://www.n8research.org.uk/case-study/n8-policing-research-partnership/">N8 Partnership</a> tailors research and gives advice on police policy in the north of England, for instance, while <a href="http://www.empac.org.uk">EMPAC</a> does something similar in the East Midlands. Yet these groups are based on temporary funding and their contributions are mainly regional. The fact that Commissioner Dick and the home secretary are promoting stop and search to curb knife crime speaks volumes about the lack of influence of researchers at national level. It’s a gap that could make a major difference to how the police service develops in the years to come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114837/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan O'Neill receives funding from Nordforsk and from the Economic and Social Research Council. She has previously received funding from The Leverhulme Trust and The British Academy. She is affiliated with the Scottish Institute for Policing Research, the British Society of Criminology and the European Society of Criminology. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liz Aston has received funding through the European Commission and the Scottish Institute for Policing Research. She is the Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research and a member of the European Society of Criminology.</span></em></p>In Scotland, researchers have been at the heart of police reforms – all very different to south of the border.Megan O'Neill, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, University of DundeeLiz Aston, Associate Professor of Criminology, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1029552018-09-11T15:21:30Z2018-09-11T15:21:30ZFear of police stop and search can deter opioid users from carrying anti-overdose kits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235836/original/file-20180911-144473-1r4v3bj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Naloxone counteracts the effects of an overdose. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ethypharm</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The levels of fatal overdose in the UK are catastrophic. More than 4,500 people <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsrelatedtodrugpoisoninginenglandandwales/2017registrations">died of</a> a drug-related death in 2017 alone. In Scotland, the figure <a href="https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/deaths/drug-related-deaths-in-scotland/2017">totalled</a> 934, the highest ever annually recorded. Drug mortality rates in Scotland per head of population are roughly two and half times higher than the UK average, and <a href="http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/4667/Assessment%20of%20drug-induced%20death%20data.pdf">among the</a> highest in Europe. The vast majority of these deaths continue to involve opioids such as heroin, morphine and methadone. </p>
<p>One of the Scottish government’s flagship responses to this drug death crisis <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/09687637.2012.682232">has been</a> a national <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naloxone">naloxone</a> programme. Naloxone is an antidote that has been used in emergency medicine since the 1970s to treat the effects of opioid overdoses. Scotland began freely supplying naloxone kits to people who use drugs for peer administration in 2011, becoming the first country in the world to do so nationally. It also made them available to drug users’ friends and family and to practitioners working in the field. </p>
<p><a href="https://gov.wales/topics/people-and-communities/communities/safety/substancemisuse/harm/naloxone/?lang=en">Wales</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/16/norway-trial-nasal-spray-antidote-heroin-overdose">Norway</a> have since launched comparable national programmes. Drug users in England <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/widening-the-availability-of-naloxone/widening-the-availability-of-naloxone">have been</a> receiving kits since 2015, but this is at the <a href="https://www.release.org.uk/blog/take-home-naloxone-england">discretion</a> of local authorities, so availability varies around the country. Other countries, including <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29744980">Australia</a>, <a href="https://towardtheheart.com/naloxone">Canada</a> and the <a href="https://www.surgeongeneral.gov/priorities/opioid-overdose-prevention/naloxone-advisory.html">US</a>, are a similar mixed bag of availability – though in many cases, people have to pay. </p>
<p>In Scotland, around 40,000 naloxone kits <a href="https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/2017-11-07/2017-11-07-Naloxone-Report.pdf?28605288268">have been</a> supplied to date. Mortality rates among those at greatest risk – people recently released from prison – <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)30656-6/fulltext?code=lancet-site">have plummeted</a>, from roughly 10% to 4% in a decade. Yet this is completely overshadowed by the surging figure for drug deaths as a whole, 87% of which were from opioids. One of the only other regions where stats about the impact of naloxone kits are available is British Columbia, which <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(18)30044-6/fulltext?code=lancet-site">showed that</a> almost 300 people had been saved by their programme since it was rapidly expanded in 2016. </p>
<p>In 2015, we <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037687161600106X">reported Scottish data</a> which highlighted an unusual paradox: naloxone kits were reaching growing numbers of people who inject drugs, but fewer than one in ten kits were being carried around as intended. Our latest data, illustrated in the graph below, suggests this was not a blip; carriage rates of naloxone remain stubbornly low.</p>
<p><strong>Naloxone kits among people who inject drugs in Scotland, 2011-2018</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235670/original/file-20180910-123107-1dzwupj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235670/original/file-20180910-123107-1dzwupj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235670/original/file-20180910-123107-1dzwupj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235670/original/file-20180910-123107-1dzwupj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235670/original/file-20180910-123107-1dzwupj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235670/original/file-20180910-123107-1dzwupj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235670/original/file-20180910-123107-1dzwupj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235670/original/file-20180910-123107-1dzwupj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Needle Exchange Surveillance Initiative, Health Protection Scotland</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This issue wouldn’t be very important if we could be sure that the majority of drug use was taking place in people’s homes, where kits are likely to be accessible. But we know from <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12889-018-5718-9">recent research</a> conducted in Glasgow that many people inject drugs in public places. So why are people who inject drugs not carrying their naloxone kits around with them? </p>
<h2>Stop and search</h2>
<p>To find out, we recently carried out <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395918301427">in-depth interviews</a> with a group of people who injected drugs. One key issue that emerged was a perception that police carrying out routine stop and searches would view the kits as drug paraphernalia because a needle is included. Although none of our interviewees were basing this on a real-life account, they feared they would end up getting taken to a police station for a fuller search. </p>
<p>Stop and search <a href="https://fullfact.org/crime/stop-and-search-england-and-wales/">has been</a> an issue with policing in England <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2246331.stm">for decades</a>, but only came to the fore in Scotland in 2014. This was thanks to <a href="http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Stop_and_Search_in_Scotland1.pdf">findings</a> that rates were almost four times higher than in England and Wales; and that in most cases, suspects were being asked to “voluntarily” give consent rather than because police believed they may be carrying drugs or a weapon or whatever. </p>
<p>Yet on the back of a huge amount of negative publicity, Police Scotland has gradually clamped down on stop and search in the past five years. It introduced a new <a href="https://beta.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/guidance/2017/05/guide-stop-search-scotland/documents/00517807-pdf/00517807-pdf/govscot:document/?inline=true">code of practice</a> in May 2017, along with <a href="http://www.maklu-online.eu/en/tijdschrift/ejps/volume-5/special-issue-changes-policing-improve-service-del/changing-stop-and-search-scotland/">significant changes</a> to search policy. Even before these changes, the levels of stop and search <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/police-scotland/stop-and-search/stop-and-search-data-publication/">had dropped</a> by more than half. Overall, they have reduced dramatically. </p>
<p>It may be that people who inject drugs are not aware of Police Scotland’s new approach – or they may still feel at risk of being stopped anyway. The reduction in stop and search rates is certainly likely to have been more marked for people in general than for opioid users. This points to an urgent need for the police to reassure people that no action will be taken if they are found carrying the kits – and more generally to raise awareness around the code of practice. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235846/original/file-20180911-144485-wbvuxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Drug users fear police attitudes to naloxone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Police Scotland</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In many states in the US, among other countries, naloxone is carried by the police as part of their routine kit. Police are often the first responders at drug overdose incidents and equipping them in this way can save lives. One such state is Indiana, where <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376871614018900">research found</a> attitudes toward naloxone among officers to be overwhelmingly positive. There have been <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/31/police-should-carry-overdose-kits-treat-addicts-crime-commissioner/">recent calls</a> for the police in the UK to adopt the same practice. It could send a strong message that the police support naloxone carriage. </p>
<p>In Scotland, police and partners <a href="https://twitter.com/PSsafercomms/status/1035589765683441664">have at least begun</a> raising awareness about naloxone among officers. Given that <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2012/8/contents/enacted">the purpose</a> of Scottish policing is to improve public well-being and safety, this certainly makes sense. Ensuring that police practices reduce, rather than exacerbate, harms to drug users is an important part of that. Policing is part of the picture; now more than ever, collective action can help reduce drug-related deaths.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102955/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew McAuley has received funding in the past from the Scottish government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liz Aston previously received funding from the Scottish Institute for Policing Research and Police Scotland to conduct research on stop and search with Dr Megan O’Neill (University of Dundee).</span></em></p>Naloxone programmes have sprung up in the UK and elsewhere, but drug death rates keep climbing.Andrew McAuley, Senior Research Fellow, School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLiz Aston, Associate Professor of Criminology, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/929682018-03-08T15:10:51Z2018-03-08T15:10:51ZVictims are more willing to report rape, so why are conviction rates still woeful?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209325/original/file-20180307-146700-atfinc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C2%2C956%2C528&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'I find the accused ...'</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/person-handcuffed-387312148?src=xPOgOTPkgfuVliMCo0S81Q-1-2">Torin55</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In many countries, conviction rates in cases of rape and other sex crimes are very low. According to <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/260195/Daly-and-Bouhours-2010-Rape-case-attrition.pdf">one study</a> of the US, Australia, Canada, England, Wales and Scotland, for example, only 7% of cases resulted in a conviction for the original offence charged, and only 13% led to a conviction of any sexual offence. </p>
<p>The number of rapes and attempted rapes reported to the police has generally been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/oct/13/reported-rapes-in-england-and-wales-double-in-five-years">increasing</a> in recent years, a sign that victims feel more confident in coming forward. Yet there has been no corresponding improvement in prosecutions and convictions. As a result, conviction rates have generally decreased, meaning victims have less access to justice.</p>
<p>Scotland, <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/02/7427/0">long known</a> for woeful conviction rates for sex offences, is a good example. At first glance, its <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/02/7427/0">latest figures</a> look encouraging: conviction numbers for rape and attempted rape <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/02/7427/0">have nearly</a> tripled during this decade, from just 36 in 2010-11 to 98 in 2016-17. </p>
<p>That said, conviction numbers are down for the past two years, having peaked at 125 in 2014/15. More worryingly, only 13% of the rapes or attempted rapes reported were prosecuted in 2016/17. And a mere 5% of complaints – one in 20 – actually resulted in a conviction. Rates are <a href="https://www.sericc.org.uk/pdfs/5533_rape-conviction-rates-in-england.pdf">similar</a> in England and Wales. </p>
<p><strong>Scottish sex crime convictions 2007-17</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209308/original/file-20180307-146694-vesak7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209308/original/file-20180307-146694-vesak7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209308/original/file-20180307-146694-vesak7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209308/original/file-20180307-146694-vesak7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209308/original/file-20180307-146694-vesak7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209308/original/file-20180307-146694-vesak7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209308/original/file-20180307-146694-vesak7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209308/original/file-20180307-146694-vesak7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0053/00532010.pdf">Scottish government</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Scottish conviction rate comparison</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209313/original/file-20180307-146650-bu5mle.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209313/original/file-20180307-146650-bu5mle.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209313/original/file-20180307-146650-bu5mle.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209313/original/file-20180307-146650-bu5mle.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209313/original/file-20180307-146650-bu5mle.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209313/original/file-20180307-146650-bu5mle.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209313/original/file-20180307-146650-bu5mle.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209313/original/file-20180307-146650-bu5mle.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0053/00532010.pdf">Scottish government</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Like many countries, Scotland <a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218141141/http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hors293.pdf">has</a> a problem <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/653101">with what</a> is known as attrition – the process by which the number of cases initially reported to police do not proceed through the criminal justice system. The figures are particularly concerning if <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/260195/Daly-and-Bouhours-2010-Rape-case-attrition.pdf">the many cases</a> that remain unreported are taken into account. </p>
<h2>Courageous victims</h2>
<p>In keeping with the broader trend, Scottish victims are at least becoming more willing to come forward. As many as 1,755 rapes <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/02/7427/0">were reported</a> to the police in 2016-17, a 78% increase on the 997 rapes reported in 2010-11. (That latter year followed <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2009/9/contents">changes to the law</a> that broadened the definition of rape.) </p>
<p>It still takes great courage to report a sex crime, but Scotland has made a lot of effort to reform this area and it seems to be having an effect. Nicola Sturgeon’s administration has positioned rape as a national priority, <a href="https://beta.gov.scot/news/supporting-victims-of-rape/">making some</a> £20m available between 2015 and 2018. </p>
<p>Police Scotland has <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14229815.display/">set up</a> a national rape task force, and dedicated specialist rape investigation units. The Scottish prosecution service <a href="https://beta.gov.scot/publications/thematic-review-investigation-prosecution-sexual-crimes/">has changed</a> how rape and other sex offences are prosecuted, including a shift towards specialist prosecutors and setting up a national sexual crimes unit. Scottish judges now have to direct juries in rape cases on how to consider evidence – specifically explaining why a victim may not physically resist their attacker or report an offence immediately. </p>
<p>Police-led campaigns such as <a href="http://www.wecanstopit.co.uk/">“We Can Stop It”</a> have raised awareness that sex without consent is rape. Rape Crisis Scotland last year ran a high-profile, award-winning campaign, <a href="https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/i-just-froze/">“I Just Froze”</a>, challenging public assumptions about how a person should react if they are raped. Together with recent wider movements such as #timesup and #metoo signalling that sexual and gender-based violence are totally unacceptable, these efforts are hopefully helping. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O5h-N0N8DaY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>One difficulty with prosecution and conviction unique to Scotland is the evidential requirement of corroboration, which requires two different and independent sources of evidence to prove a crime. This is a particular problem for rape cases since they frequently occur in private. Under corroboration rules, victim statements alone, no matter how strong and credible, are not legally sufficient; there needs to be additional evidence to proceed. </p>
<h2>Rough justice</h2>
<p>With sex offences <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/11/3053/1">currently accounting</a> for 75% of high court workload, sexual offences are clearly core business. Yet not only is securing convictions very challenging, those seeking justice <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/02/7427/0">still</a> describe <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1748895816667996">their experience</a> as “traumatic”. </p>
<p>Convictions alone <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1748895816667996">do not</a> redress the harms caused by rape and sexual assault – process matters, too. <a href="http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/publications/evaluation-of-the-rape-crisis-scotland-national-advocacy-project/">New research</a> we have co-authored suggests victim’s experiences can be improved by providing dedicated rape crisis advocacy workers to support them. This is another welcome recent improvement in Scotland. There are equivalent services in England and Wales but not in many other countries. </p>
<p>Improvements to victim experiences continue to be hampered by the system, however. Questions must be raised about every stage in the process – particularly around how evidence is obtained and used. The use of special measures, such as victims giving their evidence from behind a screen or allowing pre-recorded video evidence, can make a victim’s experience less stressful and produce better evidence. Pre-recording is now possible in Australia, New Zealand, England and Wales, for example, but not Scotland. </p>
<p>There are also issues in Scotland about how evidence is used at trial – particularly regarding sexual history and character evidence. Though subject to <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2007/09/12093427/2">restrictions</a>, this can still be used to discredit rape complainers to a jury by drawing upon popular gender misconceptions about sexual conduct and reputation. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209525/original/file-20180308-30958-19q0srj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209525/original/file-20180308-30958-19q0srj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209525/original/file-20180308-30958-19q0srj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209525/original/file-20180308-30958-19q0srj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209525/original/file-20180308-30958-19q0srj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209525/original/file-20180308-30958-19q0srj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209525/original/file-20180308-30958-19q0srj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209525/original/file-20180308-30958-19q0srj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Progress?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/lady-justice-560032672?src=ThdpjzHaCRgAXebipjWT2A-1-68">icedmocha</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/11/3053">recent review</a> by the Inspectorate of Prosecution concluded that the “ordeal of giving evidence” is particularly acute for victims of sex crimes, with much of it related to questions of this nature. Victim support groups and legal commentators <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022018317728824">say the</a> legislative protections are either not used in practice or not having the impact intended. </p>
<p>Reducing humiliation and trauma is necessary in and of itself, but if complainers give their “best” evidence and participate fully in legal processes, it should help improve conviction rates. Researchers need to better understand how the procedural safeguards are being used and experienced; this is just as important as, for example, continually raising awareness about the impact of rape or training criminal justice professionals in this area. </p>
<p>Comparing the reasons for attrition between different jurisdictions is <a href="http://kunskapsbanken.nck.uu.se/nckkb/nck/publik/fil/visa/197/different">far from straightforward</a>. Variations in law around sex offences and evidence, procedure, victims’ rights, and the extent to which stereotypes around rape persist all affect what happens on the ground. </p>
<p>Yet the Scottish experience certainly shows that general improvements in encouraging victims to come forward is only one aspect of a complex problem. To properly address conviction rates for rape and other sexual offences, the system needs thorough reform. We are still not even close to solving the problem.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92968/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michele Burman has received research funding from the Scottish government to carry out research on rape shield legislation and from Rape Crisis Scotland/Police Scotland to evaluate advocacy services. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oona Brooks-Hay has received research funding from Rape Crisis Scotland/Police Scotland to evaluate advocacy services.</span></em></p>Only 5% of rape complaints in the UK end in convictions – what a legacy for the #metoo generation.Michele Burman, Professor of Criminology, University of GlasgowOona Brooks-Hay, Lecturer in Criminology, University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/915002018-02-08T14:50:15Z2018-02-08T14:50:15ZPolice Scotland: another resignation, an undercover report and a national force in disarray<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205505/original/file-20180208-180801-10o5s2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Former Scottish Police Authority chair Andrew Flanagan with Phil Gormley who has resigned as Scotland's chief constable.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.25160277">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Few were surprised on February 7 when the <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/about-us/">Scottish Police Authority</a> (SPA) announced that its chief constable <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/police-scotland/executive-team/chief-constable-philip-gormley">Phil Gormley</a> – on special leave from his role since last September – had resigned with immediate effect. On the day a <a href="https://beta.gov.scot/news/undercover-policing/">long-awaited report</a> into undercover policing in Scotland was due to be released, this tumultuous event at <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/">Police Scotland</a> took centre stage, knocking all other issues out the way.</p>
<p>The sense of inevitability is due to a number of factors. By yesterday <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-42817034">seven separate complaints</a> had been lodged against Gormley – some of which if proven would have amounted to gross misconduct. This unprecedented intervention by individuals who worked closely with the chief constable seems to have created insurmountable problems.</p>
<p>Yet equally as important was the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-42626054">alleged intervention</a> of Scottish justice secretary <a href="http://www.parliament.scot/msps/currentmsps/michael-matheson-msp.aspx">Michael Matheson</a> in the whole affair. Gormley himself refers to the events of “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-42817033">last November</a>” as the reason it would be “impossible” for him to go back to his high-ranking job.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205510/original/file-20180208-180826-157top.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205510/original/file-20180208-180826-157top.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205510/original/file-20180208-180826-157top.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205510/original/file-20180208-180826-157top.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205510/original/file-20180208-180826-157top.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1103&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205510/original/file-20180208-180826-157top.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1103&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205510/original/file-20180208-180826-157top.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1103&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scottish justice minister Michael Matheson challenged the SPA decision to allow Phil Gormley to return to his post last November.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.34787232">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Gormley wanted to return last autumn, but when the chair of the SPA – the central watchdog that oversees Police Scotland – informed Matheson that it supported the chief constable’s request, he asked them to think again. As a result, Gormley did not come back. It is critical that a country’s police forces are independent from government and it has been <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-labour-claim-snp-s-michael-matheson-may-have-broken-the-law-1-4682225">argued</a> that Matheson had overstepped the mark and intervened in an inappropriate way. He is now facing calls to <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/michael-matheson-must-follow-police-chief-and-resign-tories-say-2pc2mjc89">resign</a> himself.</p>
<p>But this situation which verges on fiasco goes deeper than the ending of a career of a senior police officer and potentially that of a senior Scottish government minister. It cuts to the heart of the nature of the national police force in Scotland.</p>
<h2>Weakening force</h2>
<p>Created in 2013, Police Scotland is now considering its third chief constable in five years. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/28/stephen-house-police-scotland">Stephen House</a>, the first chief constable of the new amalgamated Scottish force, resigned a year early after a number of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-34072703">controversial initiatives</a>, notably around the mass searching of young people and the deployment of armed police on non-emergency duties. His successor, Phil Gormley, appointed in January 2016, barely made two years of service.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more: <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-deepening-crisis-in-scottish-policing-a-government-intervention-too-far-90037">The deepening crisis in Scottish policing: a government intervention too far</a></strong></em> </p>
<hr>
<p>This reflects an institutional problem: the centralisation of power within Police Scotland went against the grain of centuries of localised tradition and accountability. It was a major change of approach for the SNP government to endorse, and meant there was no counter balance to the power the Police Service held. That responsibility should have fallen to the SPA, yet it has struggled with its role and procedures.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sipr.ac.uk/downloads/Research_Summaries/Research_Summary_28.pdf">Research</a> from Edinburgh University showed that most SPA members were unsure of their tasks and found their powers useless in the face of Police Scotland senior management. There also was a culture of secrecy which resulted in the early resignation of the chair <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/news/322981/302961/">Andrew Flanagan</a>. He has now been replaced by former Scottish Labour cabinet minister <a href="http://www.aog.ed.ac.uk/people/directorate/professor_susan_deacon">Professor Susan Deacon</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205513/original/file-20180208-180805-mprj3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205513/original/file-20180208-180805-mprj3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205513/original/file-20180208-180805-mprj3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205513/original/file-20180208-180805-mprj3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205513/original/file-20180208-180805-mprj3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1092&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205513/original/file-20180208-180805-mprj3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1092&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205513/original/file-20180208-180805-mprj3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1092&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Professor Susan Deacon is now tasked with finding a new chief constable for Scotland, the third in five years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.1371429">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>She has a major task on her hands now overseeing the appointment of a new chief constable while dealing with the institutional limitations of the Scottish Police Authority.</p>
<p>One serious issue which fundamentally pertains to a centralised police force is the blurred lines of accountability. At the centre is Police Scotland, the SPA and the Scottish government all stepping on one another’s toes. There now needs to be a close examination of these structures, almost continually in crisis management for the last five years.</p>
<h2>Undercover police scandal</h2>
<p>On the same day as Gormley’s resignation, another policing controversy was returned to the public spotlight after a government investigation report was released: the infiltration of undercover officers in political grassroots organisations.</p>
<p>Revelations that the Met’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/undercover-with-paul-lewis-and-rob-evans/2015/jul/26/scotland-yard-shut-down-undercover-police-unit-because-it-broke-rules">Special Demonstration Squad</a> infiltrated these groups and formed intimate relationships with activists have caused widespread dismay over the last few years. This led to the establishment of a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/31/sir-john-mitting-undercover-police-inquiry-lord-justice-pitchford-motor-neurone-disease">UK inquiry</a> to explore undercover policing and its tactics – although it does not cover actions that took place in Scotland nor the role of Scottish Police.</p>
<p>The Scottish government has refused to hold a separate Scottish inquiry – a decision confimed by Michael Matheson after his statement on Gormley’s resignation.</p>
<p>But as an alternative, <a href="https://www.hmics.scot/">Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for the Constabulary in Scotland</a> (HMICS) was commissioned to carry out an internal investigation into Scottish undercover policing. On February 7 it concluded unequivocally that there was “no evidence” that Police Scotland had “infiltrated social justice campaigns”.</p>
<p>The report focuses on the use of Scottish undercover policing in tackling serious crimes. A total of 423 undercover operations of this nature have been undertaken since 2000 in Scotland. As an examination of the policing of serious criminal behaviour, the report is certainly interesting, but it fails to deal with the central issue that it was set up to investigate: the widespread use of undercover policing in political campaigns.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205516/original/file-20180208-180816-564xu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205516/original/file-20180208-180816-564xu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205516/original/file-20180208-180816-564xu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205516/original/file-20180208-180816-564xu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205516/original/file-20180208-180816-564xu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205516/original/file-20180208-180816-564xu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205516/original/file-20180208-180816-564xu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Met has conceded it sent undercover officers to Scotland for the G8 Summit at Gleneagles in 2005 where political activists gathered to protest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.2481196">PA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although the report is adamant no Scottish police officers engaged in any kind of infiltration activity, it concedes that undercover English officers spent periods of time north of the border. Indeed, the SDS deployed 11 officers over a decade in Scotland – mainly around the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4595439.stm">G8 summit</a> in 2005 when world leaders including George W Bush and Tony Blair gathered at Gleneagles.</p>
<p>The report claims that during that event they operated with “the full knowledge” of Tayside Police. But the lack of detail and openness in the report has not satisfied campaigners for a full Scottish public inquiry.</p>
<p>The fact that Gormley had direct oversight of undercover policing at the Met before he became Scotland’s chief constable just adds another curious twist to the ongoing Police Scotland saga. Now his resignation puts to rest one long-running element of what many consider a damning indictment of Scotland’s centralised police force. But lack of institutional reform and the blurring of accountability means further problems will surely not be far away.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91500/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick McKerrell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The lamentable Police Scotland saga continues as its second chief constable resigns and an undercover policing report denies any wrong doing.Nick McKerrell, Lecturer in Law, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/900372018-01-12T16:31:42Z2018-01-12T16:31:42ZThe deepening crisis in Scottish policing: a government intervention too far<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201764/original/file-20180112-101511-wb67n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scotland's chief constable Phil Gormley is currently on special leave</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.32202335">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Out with the old and in with the new. How the Scottish government must wish that as 2018 begins, this traditional old saying could apply to <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/">Police Scotland</a>. But on January 10, in the first week of parliamentary business, the justice minister, <a href="http://www.parliament.scot/msps/currentmsps/michael-matheson-msp.aspx">Michael Matheson</a>, was called on to make yet another statement on Scotland’s beleaguered national police force. Just before Christmas he was defending police use of <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/taser-use-will-not-lead-to-armed-police-1-4643497%E2%80%8B">tasers</a>. This time, however, it was personal.</p>
<p>It was revealed via the release of <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15791893.Revealed__the_bitter_row_between_Police_Scotland_s_chief_constable_and_the_Justice_Secretary/">several letters</a> on Christmas Eve that the minister had intervened in the business of the service watchdog the <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/about-us/">Scottish Police Authority</a> (SPA), to prevent the return to work of the chief constable <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/police-scotland/executive-team/chief-constable-philip-gormley">Phil Gormley</a> in November.</p>
<p>Gormley, in post since January 2016, has been on “special leave” from his position since September last year following <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41939592">five staff complaints</a> over his behaviour, and was being investigated for potential gross misconduct.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more: <a href="https://theconversation.com/scotlands-police-force-is-in-crisis-and-it-starts-at-the-top-84052">Scotland’s police force is in crisis - and it starts at the top</a></strong></em> </p>
<hr>
<p>The SPA board had met and unanimously agreed to allow him to return to work – until the justice minister was informed. The minister then raised concerns at a meeting with the outgoing chair of the SPA <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/about-us/the-board/andrew-flanagan/">Andrew Flanagan</a> – which was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-42647721">not minuted</a> – and the board subsequently overturned its position. Gormley is still not back at his desk.</p>
<h2>Unapologetic</h2>
<p>The trouble with this, apart from the obvious problem of the government determining who the top police officer in the country should be, is that the minister had no formal authority to do this. In legal parlance he seems to have been acting <em>ultra vires</em>: beyond his powers.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201765/original/file-20180112-101495-1jmf0w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201765/original/file-20180112-101495-1jmf0w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201765/original/file-20180112-101495-1jmf0w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201765/original/file-20180112-101495-1jmf0w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201765/original/file-20180112-101495-1jmf0w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1103&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201765/original/file-20180112-101495-1jmf0w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1103&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201765/original/file-20180112-101495-1jmf0w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1103&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Justice Secretary Michael Matheson intervened this week to overturn the decision by the Scottish Police Authority to return Chief Constable Phil Gormley to work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/search-results/fluid/?q=michael%20matheson&amber_border=1&category=A,S,E&fields_0=all&fields_1=all&green_border=1&imagesonly=1&orientation=both&red_border=1&words_0=all&words_1=all#2.32202335">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In extreme circumstances the justice minister could issue a written request for the SPA to overturn a decision which would be presented to parliament – this was not done in this case. In an <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/scotland/902996/SNP-justice-minister-police-scotland-chief-constable-Michael-Matheson-Phil-Gormley">unapologetic speech</a> to Holyrood, Matheson claimed he had to raise his concerns over the lack of “due process” adopted by the SPA.</p>
<p>In particular, the SPA had not contacted the body investigating the complaints against Gormley – the <a href="https://pirc.scot/">Police and Investigations Review Commissioner</a> (PIRC) – nor had it informed any of those who had raised complaints. As a result Matheson concluded that the SPA had acted in a “completely unacceptable” way.</p>
<p>Such arguments in defence of a fair hearing and protecting staff seem to have a degree of legitimacy and may have ensured temporary political survival for Matheson. There certainly seem to be issues about the leadership of Police Scotland. As well as the Gormley situation, an assistant chief constable <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-scotland-probe-suspends-chief-11629890">was also suspended</a> in November for alleged criminal behaviour which is now being investigated.</p>
<p>But it would be unusual for a government minister to involve themselves in the minutiae of any other employment dispute or managerial appointment in other public services. Would the same interventionist attitude be displayed towards an NHS Trust Board or the governing body of a Scottish college or university?</p>
<p>The fact remains that the issues surrounding the chief constable’s leave and how it has been handled are nothing to do with the government. This is why the structures introduced in 2011 gave this power to the nationally appointed SPA. There is actually less of a case for the police to be subject to government intervention than in other spheres of the public sector because of the specific powers the police have in our society.</p>
<h2>Police powers</h2>
<p>There was a stark reminder of these powers in December when the acting chief constable, <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/whats-happening/news/2017/september/deputy-chief-constable-iain-livingstone-cancels-retirement-plans">Iain Livingstone</a>, announced the decision to give 500 officers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/14/extra-500-scottish-officers-to-get-tasers-after-rise-in-assaults-on-police">access to tasers</a> (doubling the number in Scotland) and increasing the use of armed police for non-firearm calls.</p>
<p>This major decision was presented to a meeting of the SPA almost as a fait accompli – even though the body is meant to be the watchdog for the Scottish force and these decisions could fundamentally alter policing.</p>
<p>As well as having access to weapons, Police Scotland alone has substantial powers to arrest, detain and search any citizen in the land. In fact at the end of this month the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2016/1/contents/enacted">Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016</a> will come into force – bringing all these powers together in an act of parliament for the first time.</p>
<p>Such power needs to be handled with care. This means the accountability and governance structure of a police force is key if policing is to be done by <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/policing-by-consent">consent</a>. The ability to take away people’s freedoms and, in very specific circumstances, use lethal force means there must be clear distance from government interference.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201766/original/file-20180112-101511-znhdo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201766/original/file-20180112-101511-znhdo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201766/original/file-20180112-101511-znhdo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201766/original/file-20180112-101511-znhdo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201766/original/file-20180112-101511-znhdo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201766/original/file-20180112-101511-znhdo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201766/original/file-20180112-101511-znhdo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill, one of the architects of the amalgamated Scottish police force, called for Phil Gormley to step down this week.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.19994127">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Freed from his responsibilities of office, <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13411726.Kenny_MacAskill_announces_he_will_stand_down_as_an_MSP_next_year/">Kenny MacAskill</a>, the former justice minister and major architect of the national police force, has <a href="https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/time-move-along-phil-gormley-good-police/">openly called</a> for Gormley to be removed while promoting his favoured candidate for the role, acting chief constable Iain Livingstone (who rescinded his retirement to take the helm). This would be unacceptable for the Scottish government itself to do.</p>
<h2>Structural crisis</h2>
<p>Yet it is not about personalities. The problems of Scottish policing stem from the structural changes made when the national police force was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/01/police-scotland-stephen-house-chief-constable">introduced</a> in 2013 by MacAskill. It went against the grain of local policing in Scotland. By removing all elements of localised accountability, the enhancement of power of senior officers in Police Scotland and the ability of the Scottish government to intervene in policing looked inevitable – and indeed that is what has happened.</p>
<p>Ironically, the SPA board criticised by Matheson for its handling of the chief constable situation was actually appointed by the Scottish government and it has not escaped its own existential crisis.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201768/original/file-20180112-101498-gc4bma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201768/original/file-20180112-101498-gc4bma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201768/original/file-20180112-101498-gc4bma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201768/original/file-20180112-101498-gc4bma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201768/original/file-20180112-101498-gc4bma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1101&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201768/original/file-20180112-101498-gc4bma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1101&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201768/original/file-20180112-101498-gc4bma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1101&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Andrew Flanagan, former chair of the Scottish Police Authority, resigned over claims about his conduct and lack of transparency.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.30296655">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In December 2017 Flanagan was replaced as chair by <a href="http://www.aog.ed.ac.uk/people/directorate/professor_susan_deacon">Professor Susan Deacon</a>, an experienced former government minister and academic, after he resigned due to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/14/scotlands-under-pressure-police-board-chief-resigns/">criticisms</a> over his conduct and lack of transparency. Yet the machinations over the chief constable are not the only issue she will have to deal with. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/uploads/docs/report/2017/aar_1617_spa.pdf">report</a> by <a href="http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/about-us/audit-scotland">Audit Scotland</a> of the SPA’s overseeing of the policing budget made for shocking reading. The use of public money has been deemed “unacceptable” by the auditor general. This included approving £120,000 for relocation costs for a new senior officer and approving a six figure pay-off for an employee.</p>
<p>As 2018 begins, policing in Scotland is in crisis: no chief constable, a justice minister facing political and legal challenges over his behaviour and a national police authority forced to re-establish its reputation and define its role. A close examination of the structures is urgently needed if this crisis is to be resolved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90037/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick McKerrell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Scottish police debacle takes another twist as the justice minister intervenes to prevent the chief constable returning to his post following bullying claims.Nick McKerrell, Lecturer in Law, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/840522017-09-14T14:56:42Z2017-09-14T14:56:42ZScotland’s police force is in crisis – and it starts at the top<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186040/original/file-20170914-9003-9i9s41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.23343181">https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.23343181</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The announcement of the temporary suspension of Scotland’s Chief Constable, <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/police-scotland/executive-team/chief-constable-philip-gormley">Phil Gormley</a>, as he took “special leave” last week was yet another bolt of lightning from the storm-hit <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/">Police Scotland</a>. The move was announced when it was revealed that Gormley <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-scotlands-under-fire-phil-11133563">faced a claim</a> of gross misconduct from a colleague. </p>
<p>The Chief Constable was already facing a misconduct complaint made a few weeks before. He stayed in post at that point, stating that he “was focused on leading Police Scotland”. This became unsustainable as the second complaint emerged. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon backed Gormley’s decision to take leave.</p>
<p>Gormley has only been in post since January 2016 and was seen as a relatively safe pair of hands following the controversial first Chief Constable <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/28/stephen-house-police-scotland">Stephen House</a>, who retired early following the introduction of aggressive policing techniques in the form of <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/house-rapped-over-stop-and-search-report-ckmkbtxs935">stop and search</a> and the deployment of armed officers in particular.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186041/original/file-20170914-8980-8sqp6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186041/original/file-20170914-8980-8sqp6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186041/original/file-20170914-8980-8sqp6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186041/original/file-20170914-8980-8sqp6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186041/original/file-20170914-8980-8sqp6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186041/original/file-20170914-8980-8sqp6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186041/original/file-20170914-8980-8sqp6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scotland’s Chief Constable Phil Gormley is taking a leave of absence after two allegations of gross misconduct were made against him.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.32202335">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Although given the task was to break with the old regime, it always seemed odd that Gormley came from a similar professional background to House, spending most of his career in the London-based Met – a very centralised and powerful force partly designed to protect the British state, which operates under a different legal system. A Scottish-trained officer was not seen as an appropriate replacement.</p>
<p>English police forces in general have a much more localised approach. In fact, the UK Government introduced the election of <a href="http://www.apccs.police.uk/find-your-pcc/2016-police-crime-commissioner-elections/">Police and Crime Commissioners</a> which are regionally based and work alongside Chief Constables, providing a localised and accountable focus. </p>
<h2>Institutional malaise</h2>
<p>Yet as strange as it seems, the temporary resignation of the “top cop” in Scotland is almost the least of the issues which Police Scotland faces; an underlying crisis in the governance structures has rumbled on for months and seems no closer to resolution.</p>
<p>This can be directly linked to the creation of a unified police force in Scotland in 2013 after centuries of local policing. Prompted by budget cuts, eight police forces were merged into one and new structures were established. This required political endorsement from the majority SNP government elected in 2011, which had previously opposed plans for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/01/police-scotland-stephen-house-chief-constable">centralised policing</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186042/original/file-20170914-9021-1pkzm4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186042/original/file-20170914-9021-1pkzm4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186042/original/file-20170914-9021-1pkzm4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186042/original/file-20170914-9021-1pkzm4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186042/original/file-20170914-9021-1pkzm4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=822&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186042/original/file-20170914-9021-1pkzm4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=822&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186042/original/file-20170914-9021-1pkzm4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=822&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scotland’s first Chief Constable of Police Force Scotland, Sir Stephen House, with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. He retired early over the use of controversial policing measures in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.23443594">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the reasons there was (and remains) opposition to a unified force was the dismantling of local links. Historically, there was a balance of accountabilities between Scottish local authorities, central government and the internal managerial structure of the regional police services.</p>
<p>The local police boards were replaced by a central <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/about-us/">Scottish Police Authority</a> (SPA) – not staffed with councillors but unelected government-appointed members. This inevitably gave the impression of a move away from localised, community-based policing to a central force much closer to government.</p>
<p>In fact, the Scottish Justice Minister Michael Matheson has had to intervene directly over policing issues in a way which is unprecedented for any government minister anywhere in the UK. In a Scottish Parliamentary debate held this week in response to the Gormley announcement, Matheson had to give backing “to the strong and resilient command team in Police Scotland”. He sounded more like a chairman of the board of an embattled football team than an independent government minister overseeing policing.</p>
<h2>Resignation after resignation</h2>
<p>Reflecting both its novelty and the lack of clarity around its role, the SPA has not proven to be a stable ballast for the chaotic machinations at the top of Police Scotland. In fact, the opposite is true. In June this year, chair of the SPA <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/about-us/the-board/andrew-flanagan/">Andrew Flanagan</a> resigned from his post over issues of secrecy and transparency just two years into his four-year role. </p>
<p>It was the undertaking of a governance review of Police Scotland – ordered by the First Minister in the wake of Stephen House’s controversial initiatives – that revealed the fundamental vacuum of accountability at the heart of Scottish policing.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186043/original/file-20170914-9003-e81c48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186043/original/file-20170914-9003-e81c48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186043/original/file-20170914-9003-e81c48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186043/original/file-20170914-9003-e81c48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186043/original/file-20170914-9003-e81c48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1101&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186043/original/file-20170914-9003-e81c48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1101&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186043/original/file-20170914-9003-e81c48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1101&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Andrew Flanagan, head of public body the Scottish Police Authority, also resigned recently over a transparency and secrecy row.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.30296655">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Flanagan <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-40274013">quit</a> after a damning report by the Scottish Parliament on his handling of the resignation of SPA board member and experienced public accountability campaigner Moi Ali. During a public discussion of governance, Ms Ali questioned the idea of the SPA (a public body) holding its meetings in private.</p>
<p>Flanagan challenged Ali over raising these issues in public, claiming it undermined “collective responsibility” and questioned whether she could remain as a member. As a result, Ali resigned from the authority which seemed to undermine the whole issue of transparency and openness.</p>
<h2>How did this happen?</h2>
<p>The question now seems to be why are these fundamental issues of governance and accountability only now are being exposed, and with such serious consequences? This debate should have occurred before a centralised police force was established four years ago. </p>
<p>What is becoming clearer is that in the rush to introduce the unitary Police Scotland, little time was devoted to looking at lines of accountability and responsibility. Stephen House took advantage of this vacuum to push through his controversial initiatives which forced the Scottish Government to intervene. This left the authorities struggling to catch up, and get used to sights such as <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/bobbies-guns-police-scotland-chief-3877128">armed police</a> in rural places like Inverness.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186045/original/file-20170914-8971-1wud19i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186045/original/file-20170914-8971-1wud19i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186045/original/file-20170914-8971-1wud19i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186045/original/file-20170914-8971-1wud19i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186045/original/file-20170914-8971-1wud19i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186045/original/file-20170914-8971-1wud19i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186045/original/file-20170914-8971-1wud19i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Controversial stop-and-search techniques led to public and political criticism of ex-Met Chief Constable Sir Stephen House, followed by his stepping down.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.4755584">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now we are left with two of the main institutions of Scottish policing with no permanent leadership at the same time – an unprecedented situation. Flanagan has still not been replaced and all opposition politicians have called for this role to be appointed by the Scottish parliament.</p>
<p>Such a unified approach is unusual in the polarised world of Scottish politics, but the Scottish government has resisted the call so far, pointing out the legislation only allows them to appoint the chair of the Scottish Police Authority.</p>
<p>The investigation of the complaints against Gormley are still ongoing as he begins his temporary leave. The search for a chair of the SPA has not been completed and it is unclear how or when they will be appointed.</p>
<p>The institutional malaise around Police Scotland is not going away any time soon, and for people concerned with issues of good police leadership, governance and accountability, that is bad news.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick McKerrell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>After a series of high-profile resignations and allegations of misconduct, effective leadership of Scotland’s centralised police force is lacking.Nick McKerrell, Lecturer in Law, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/588812016-05-04T13:42:22Z2016-05-04T13:42:22ZWhy policing in Scotland remains a thorn in the government’s side<p>Nicola Sturgeon recently <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/19/nicola-sturgeon-m9-crash-deaths-my-lowest-point-as-first-ministe/">admitted that</a> the lowest point of her 18 months as Scottish first minister was when <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/driver-m9-crash-left-two-6466317#sh4FviBjyvvTITh2.97">John Yuill and Lamara Bell</a> died on the M9 in 2015 following a police call that was not acted upon. </p>
<p>It went to the heart of the problems caused by the 2013 decision to create Police Scotland via a merger of eight regional forces, and was the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/11827712/Sir-Stephen-House-quits-as-Police-Scotland-chief.html">final straw</a> for the tenure of inaugural chief constable Stephen House. It capped a difficult five years in justice for the Scottish government, the effects of which will continue to play out for some time to come. </p>
<p>In the <a href="http://votesnp.com/campaigns/SNP_Manifesto_2011_lowRes.pdf">SNP manifesto of 2011</a>, the plan to create Police Scotland was not made clear to voters. The headline demand on policing focused on extra officers on the beat. There was no mention of one national force with all its associated problems of accountability. If you dig quite deep, you find only this ambiguous statement: “In order to maintain the increased visible police presence we will reduce the number of police forces in Scotland.” </p>
<p>The first years of Police Scotland, which is seen as a potential model for England and Wales, were defined by the powerful House and some controversial police tactics. Stop and search <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-stop-and-search-policing-with-a-firearm-became-routine-34442">was introduced</a> across the whole of the country at unprecedented levels, particularly against young people. Over half a million searches <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-loose-rules-at-the-heart-of-scotlands-stop-and-search-problem-need-tightened-27558">were carried out</a> in the first year of Police Scotland, the equivalent of one in ten of the country’s population being subjected to one. </p>
<p>At the height of its use, <a href="http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/news-events/news/scots-stop-and-search-rates-fall-but-stay-top-in-uk-study-shows/">people in Scotland were</a> four times more likely than anywhere else in the UK to be searched. Most searches were deemed to be “consensual” – agreed to by the participants, including children who are legally too young to consent. When the facts emerged, the government called an inquiry under John Scott QC, who last year <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-34137632">recommended</a> a complete end to consensual search. </p>
<p>House, previously of the London Metropolitan Police and then the former Strathclyde force, also <a href="https://theconversation.com/scottish-police-lurch-from-one-crisis-to-another-with-a-little-help-from-the-met-53704">tried to</a> use armed police in parts of the country on routine patrols. The outcry was again met by an <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11035383/Scotlands-controversial-armed-police-policy-to-be-reviewed.html">official investigation</a> – this time by the Inspectorate of Constabulary. The policy was hastily <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/police-scotland-u-turn-on-armed-police-patrols-1-3559413">withdrawn</a> in 2014.</p>
<h2>House out, Gormley in</h2>
<p>These controversies raised suspicions that Police Scotland was taking advantage of the transition to a single service. The force’s relationships with Holyrood, communities and the new watchdog, the Scottish Police Authority, were all unclear. This made it easier for the new force to dodge the questions of who it had to answer to.</p>
<p>The chief constable resigned soon after the Yuill/Bell incident last August with a year left on his contract. He was replaced by Phil Gormley, who like him was a trained London Met officer, but the Scottish government could not evade responsibility for what happened on House’s watch. While the police force is supposed to be completely independent from political oversight, justice ministers Kenny MacAskill and then Michael Matheson had no choice but to get involved in every row. </p>
<p>They also commissioned an <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/news/337373/">investigation</a> by the Scottish Police Authority into Police Scotland’s local accountability, which offered few concrete ideas that would help. Over the past five years, the government’s central message has been that a national police force would enhance local accountability. This has always sounded contradictory. </p>
<p>Policing has arguably taken up more official reports in Scotland in the last five years than any other issue except the independence referendum. And as an issue, it is also unlikely to go away. One foreseeable source of aggravation is that Phil Gormley previously had direct supervisory responsibilities for the undercover Special Demonstration Squad in London. The SDS is currently the subject of a <a href="https://www.ucpi.org.uk">public inquiry</a> over how it used undercover policing to infiltrate radical groups. </p>
<p>The review is currently only looking at England and Wales, but there are <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/14210098.London_and_Edinburgh_to_hold_talks_on_extending_undercover_police__sex_spy__inquiry_to_Scotland/?ref=rss">increasing demands</a> from across the political spectrum to extend it to Scotland, following revelations about police activity including the monitoring of activists north of the border. Gormley <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-35376486">has said</a> that despite his overall responsibilities, he didn’t know of SDS’s existence. </p>
<h2>Justice trouble</h2>
<p>Tied to the government’s woes over Police Scotland is the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2012/1/contents/enacted">Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012</a>, which <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-24825094">gave the police</a> tough powers over sectarian abuse during matches. It has been argued to be unnecessary <a href="http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13331811.Celtic_call_for_parts_of_anti_sectarian_football_law_to_be_repealed/">and even</a> an invasive attack on the human rights of supporters. Celtic, Scotland’s leading football club, <a href="http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13331811.Celtic_call_for_parts_of_anti_sectarian_football_law_to_be_repealed/">wants</a> parts of the legislation repealed, while all the political parties apart from the SNP <a href="http://stv.tv/news/politics/1351968-scottish-labour-we-will-repeal-hated-offensive-behaviour-act/">want it abolished</a>. </p>
<p>Kenny MacAskill, the architect of Police Scotland, also <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/scottish-politics/10669195/Major-SNP-split-emerges-over-ministers-vitriolic-corroboration-speech.html">sought to</a> abolish the traditional Scots Law procedure of corroboration. This law requires at least two corresponding pieces of evidence to prove criminal behaviour. Despite seeing off opposition from within his own party, the legal establishment and the parliament, the policy <a href="http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Corroboration-abolition-removed-from-Bill-1866.aspx">was dropped</a> when Michael Matheson took over the department pending further review. It remains to be seen whether the Scottish government will re-introduce this measure.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the government has sent out mixed signals over prisons. Matheson and his colleagues took the radical step of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-36198992">scrapping</a> plans to build a new women’s prison, re-emphasising their commitment to non-custodial remedies for female prisoners. This contrasted sharply with the <a href="http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/End-to-automatic-prison-release-2212.aspx">decision</a> in February to end automatic early release for male prisoners, despite Scotland having the highest prison population per head in the EU. </p>
<p>This leaves much in the in-tray for the next Scottish government. The questions of policing – accountability, scrutiny and transparency – are not going to disappear. The new justice minister is also going to have to take decisions about prison populations, corroboration and the Offensive Behaviour Act. We can only hope the government has learned from its mistakes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58881/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick McKerrell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With the Scottish government’s reputation for policing and justice charred from nine years in office, here’s what the future looks like.Nick McKerrell, Lecturer in Law, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/537042016-01-27T16:35:04Z2016-01-27T16:35:04ZScottish police lurch from one crisis to another – with a little help from the Met<p>The Scottish police force’s <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-35376486">latest unhappy revelation</a> must have sent a shiver down the necks of the Scottish justice department: Phil Gormley, the new chief constable, previously supervised the division of the London Metropolitan Police which included the controversial undercover unit the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2704877/Secret-police-unit-ran-40-years-without-officers-knowing-Rogue-squad-gathered-intelligence-18-justice-campaigns-including-Stephen-Lawrence.html">Special Demonstration Squad</a>. </p>
<p>In one fell swoop, Scotland’s “top cop” has become embroiled in one of the most controversial issues in UK policing in the past 20 years – although he <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-35376486">has said</a> he knew nothing about the Special Demonstration Squad at the time. The unit deployed officers who infiltrated radical groups such as environmentalists and anarchists, who in some cases had sexual relationships with group members and even fathered children. The connection is the last thing that troubled Police Scotland needs and the timing could not have been worse: environmental campaigner Kate Wilson <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35350095">recently won damages</a> against the police after her two-year relationship with undercover officer Mark Kennedy. Several other women have received out-of-court settlements as a result of the matter. </p>
<p>Controversy has dogged Police Scotland since it <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-21820882">was formed</a> in April 2013 by merging Scotland’s eight regional forces. Though such as centralised model of policing has been resisted in England and Wales, Police Scotland’s first chief constable, Sir Stephen House, had spent his entire career in England, including a stint as assistant commissioner of the London Met, before becoming chief of Strathclyde Police in 2007. Once in Scotland, the combative House quickly became an advocate of a single national force for Scotland at a time when it was a minority political view. He began winning the argument when the SNP-led Scottish government <a href="http://votesnp.com/campaigns/SNP_Manifesto_2011_lowRes.pdf">changed its position</a> on national policing ahead of the 2011 Scottish elections. </p>
<h2>Tough tactics</h2>
<p>Following House’s promotion to run the new merged force in 2013, he wasted no time in making his mark on Scottish policing. Police Scotland used stop-and-search tactics on a <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13413778.Nearly_one_in_every_five_Glaswegians_subjected_to_stop_and_search/">huge scale</a>, following the model he used in Strathclyde that in 2010 made such searches <a href="http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/SCCJR-Non-statutory-stop-and-search-FINAL-1.4.pdf">four times more common</a> than in the whole of England. </p>
<p>In Police Scotland’s first year alone, 520,000 searches took place. These were overwhelmingly carried out on young people (including hundreds of children under the age of 12), without the officer having to specify the law under which anyone was being searched. Following general outcry, the Scottish government <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00484527.pdf">carried out</a> a review in 2015 overseen by a senior human rights lawyer who concluded that the procedure was of “questionable lawfulness and legitimacy”. The government <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/03/police-scotland-urged-to-end-non-statutory-stop-and-search">duly made</a> Police Scotland change the policy. </p>
<p>The whole worrying episode could be traced to a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/04/metropolitan-police-federation-report-arrest-quotas-demoralising">target-led culture</a> endemic in the Metropolitan Police and across senior police management structures. This Met influence on House was also seen in another Police Scotland controversy – the use of armed police. The small number of Scottish armed officers were deployed on routine incidents. This led to scenes of police with guns patrolling the streets in Inverness and other rural communities. Following protest and political anger, this practice was also <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29444184">rolled back</a>.</p>
<h2>When House fell</h2>
<p>House’s <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/11827712/Sir-Stephen-House-quits-as-Police-Scotland-chief.html">resignation</a> last August, a year before his contract was supposed to end, came amid criticism of these aggressive policing operations, though things were brought to a head by another controversy – the <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/driver-m9-crash-left-two-6466317#sh4FviBjyvvTITh2.97">car-crash deaths</a> of John Yuill and Lamara Bell near Stirling the month before. Although a passer-by had reported the crash to the police call response unit, no one acted on it for several days and the call was not recorded on the system. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109232/original/image-20160126-20542-1m6pye4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109232/original/image-20160126-20542-1m6pye4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109232/original/image-20160126-20542-1m6pye4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109232/original/image-20160126-20542-1m6pye4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109232/original/image-20160126-20542-1m6pye4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109232/original/image-20160126-20542-1m6pye4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109232/original/image-20160126-20542-1m6pye4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109232/original/image-20160126-20542-1m6pye4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lamara Bell and John Yuill.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet House’s departure did not end the unsettled structures of accountability within the new national structure. Moving from locally based forces to a centralised one has not been balanced with equivalent democratic national watchdog bodies. It was this vacuum that allowed such aggressive policing in the first place.</p>
<p>It seemed counter-intuitive to say the least to replace House in December with Gormley, another senior Met officer with absolutely no experience in Scotland. There is the advantage that he has no association with the previous regime, but since his arrival, it has been déjà vu for the Scottish force and the government. Even before the Special Demonstration Squad story, Gormley had <a href="http://www.scotlibdems.org.uk/answers_needed_on_police_scotland_spying">inherited the problems caused by the revelation</a> that Police Scotland hacked journalists’ data to discover their sources without observing due process. The Scottish parliament is investigating the issue, but Police Scotland <a href="https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/force-refuses-let-officers-be-quizzed-scottish-parliament-over-ripa-abuse-find-journalistic-sources?qt-most_read_most_commentedt=1">is reportedly refusing</a> to allow some serving officers to appear in front of the relevant committee. It adds to the sense that some senior people at Police Scotland regard themselves as untouchable. </p>
<p>As if all this wasn’t enough, news of Gormley’s role at the Met comes amid <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14186434.New_call_for_a_Scottish_Government_inquiry_into_undercover_police_operations/">strong calls</a> for the <a href="https://www.ucpi.org.uk">Pitchford Inquiry</a> into the Met’s Special Demonstration Squad and undercover policing to be extended to Scotland. There is strong evidence that the undercover officers in question were operating during a number of <a href="http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/scotland/undercover-policeman-mark-kennedy-linked-to-gleneagles-protesters-1.921501">Scottish protests</a>. So far, the UK government has resisted broadening the remit of the inquiry. </p>
<p>In sum, the new Scottish chief constable is in for a bumpy ride. These London chiefs and policing practices, curiously imported by Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP government, are likely to become a central issue in the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35131438">upcoming elections</a>. The repercussions for Scottish society are likely to be felt for a long time. We haven’t heard the last of this to say the least.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53704/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick McKerrell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Met’s fingerprints are all over the havoc a few hundred miles north.Nick McKerrell, Lecturer in Law, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/514202015-12-10T14:25:24Z2015-12-10T14:25:24ZScotland leads Europe on LGBT rights, but shouldn’t forget its past<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103461/original/image-20151127-11618-52ky92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The progressive present came after many years of struggle.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=iC4uEJOwFc4ysMCJtx7aCg&searchterm=doctor%20prescription&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=242795671">Tata Chen</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>LGBT citizens in Scotland today can marry, be in civil partnerships, adopt children and have careers knowing their right to work is protected. Political leaders identify as gay or bisexual – and Scotland <a href="http://www.ilga-europe.org/resources/rainbow-europe/2015">recently topped</a> a European league table measuring legal protections offered to LGBTI people.</p>
<p>But all this marks a radical shift. For many years Scotland lagged behind England and Wales in recognising sexual diversity. Gay and bisexual men and women were starved of acceptance and recognition and subjected to intense homophobia – as recorded in a new BBC Scotland/Hopscotch Films <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06qsv9r/coming-oot-a-fabulous-history-of-gay-scotland">documentary</a>, Coming Oot: A Fabulous History of Gay Scotland, for which I was a historical consultant.</p>
<p>Scotland did not decriminalise gay sex between consenting men <a href="http://www.gayinthe80s.com/2012/07/1980-and-1982-the-1967-sexual-offences-act/">until 1980</a>, 13 years after England and Wales. Where change in England and Wales was precipitated by the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/4/newsid_3007000/3007686.stm">1957 Wolfenden report</a>, in Scotland there was a fly in the ointment: James Adair, a former procurator fiscal and religious conservative who <a href="http://queerscotland.com/2013/06/06/james-adair-lord-protector-of-scottish-morality/">produced</a> a minority report against decriminalisation. He claimed open homosexuality would elicit public “disgust”, promote male prostitution and enable “perverts to practise sinning for the sake of sinning”.</p>
<p>The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland also opposed change, as did most of the press. Yet the biggest obstacle was a legal one. Because Scottish criminal convictions require the corroboration of two different pieces of evidence, homosexual acts behind closed doors were rarely prosecuted. The law instead focused on acts in parks, toilets, and tenement closes. The Scottish consensus seemed to be that if private male sex wasn’t prosecuted, why go to the trouble and expense of changing the law?</p>
<h2>Hard times</h2>
<p>Of course, this ignored the civil liberties of Scottish LGB men and women, who were largely unaware of the selective application of the law. Coming Oot captures the pressures of men and women desperately trying to look, or even be, heterosexual. When <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/queer-voices-in-postwar-scotland-jeffrey-meek/?isb=9781137444097">I interviewed</a> 24 gay and bisexual men active in that era, a quarter had married in an attempt to think or become “straight”. Other men presented a heterosexual facade to family and work colleagues while secretively visiting bars where gay men met. </p>
<p>Physical threats, robberies and police intimidation were all common. “Stephen” recalled being harassed by two undercover police officers in the 1960s who encouraged him to end his miserable “queer” life by jumping from Glasgow Bridge.</p>
<p>Some doctors even offered “treatments”. “Morris” was prescribed female hormonal treatment, which little affected his desires but made him grow breasts and lose his facial hair. Others sought help from psychiatrists, only some of whom were supportive. During the 1960s “Frankie” was sent to a child psychiatrist, only to be psychologically scarred by warnings of paedophilia, and the devastation that homosexuality would wreak upon his life and career.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103460/original/image-20151127-11631-1ewhtf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103460/original/image-20151127-11631-1ewhtf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103460/original/image-20151127-11631-1ewhtf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103460/original/image-20151127-11631-1ewhtf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103460/original/image-20151127-11631-1ewhtf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103460/original/image-20151127-11631-1ewhtf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103460/original/image-20151127-11631-1ewhtf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103460/original/image-20151127-11631-1ewhtf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Doctor’s orders: medics often made things worse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=iC4uEJOwFc4ysMCJtx7aCg&searchterm=doctor%20prescription&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=242795671">Georgil Shipin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Coming Oot also highlights the invisibility of lesbians in Scotland, untouched by legal sanctions but subject to the same stigma. They occupied a strange hinterland where their rights to pleasure were either ignored or viewed with passive distaste. A 1970 letter from the Crown Office in Scotland makes a short but telling comment: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>As far as female perverts are concerned, they have never been a problem to this office. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Small steps</h2>
<p>Yet as the period progressed, so did some attitudes. The Church of Scotland offered premises to Scotland’s first homosexual law reform organisation after its establishment in 1969. The arrangement ended in the early 1970s when the group sought to start discos and social events and encourage an Edinburgh LGBT commercial scene, but it found an unlikely saviour in the Roman Catholic Church, which supplied premises and priests to speak at its meetings. In a society still dominated by the two main churches, both institutions actively engaged with the law reform group, albeit at a pastoral level.</p>
<p>Police in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee were meanwhile still allegedly harassing gay men, and lacked discretion when investigating homophobic crimes. Complaints about this to chief constables received short shrift. “Chris”, a former bartender at Vintners in Glasgow, one of the first gay-friendly bars in Scotland, recalled: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[The police] would come in for their drink at the end of the night. They would expect their drinks to be on the bar, it was horrible, horrible. There was this sense you were the scum of the earth, but they still came in and caused that feeling of intimidation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As recently as 1980, Grampian Police was issuing the following commentary in handbooks to officers: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The terms ‘sodomy’, ‘lewd and libidinous practices’ etc where used in law give little indication of the nature of these offences, the manner in which they are usually committed, and the evils they are liable to bring in their train … </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>English progress</h2>
<p>In England, high-profile trials such as those involving <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/nov/16/guardianobituaries">Peter Wildeblood</a>, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3217558/Dandy-peer-sex-trial-changed-Britain-Lord-Montagu-s-died-88-pinnacle-society-jailed-homosexuality.html">Lord Montagu</a> and <a href="http://lgbthistoryuk.org/wiki/index.php?title=Michael_Pitt-Rivers">Michael Pitt-Rivers</a> in the 1950s encouraged debate about the legal status of homosexuals. Scotland lacked such platforms to engage with homosexuality. And while the London of the 1960s and 1970s presented the likes of Quentin Crisp to Tom Robinson, there were few Scottish “role models”. Those who were LGB tended to migrate south.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103462/original/image-20151127-11600-77gjh5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103462/original/image-20151127-11600-77gjh5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103462/original/image-20151127-11600-77gjh5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103462/original/image-20151127-11600-77gjh5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103462/original/image-20151127-11600-77gjh5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103462/original/image-20151127-11600-77gjh5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103462/original/image-20151127-11600-77gjh5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103462/original/image-20151127-11600-77gjh5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pitt-Rivers, Montagu and Wildeblood.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw225969/Michael-Fox-Pitt-Rivers-Edward-Douglas-Scott-Montagu-3rd-Baron-Montagu-of-Beaulieu-Peter-Wildeblood">Keystone Press</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet the experiences of many LGB Scots were not simply narratives of struggle. They forged careers and continued to seek romantic fulfilment in spite of social opprobrium. In doing so, they helped to change attitudes. My interviewees spoke of a growing sense of solidarity by the mid-1970s. “Chris” said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was a different bond, a commonality, and you stuck together. It was like another family.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Where change was institutionally inspired in England, the drive for legal reform in Scotland came from LGBT citizens like these, keen to invoke a lost radical tradition and reshape dogmatic stereotypes. Scots now live in a society where young LGBT people no longer need to hide a hugely important part of themselves away. It is important to appreciate that the path to an “enlightened” Scotland was filled with many obstacles.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51420/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeff Meek was a consultant for the BBC/Hopscotch films documentary Coming Oot.</span></em></p>When it comes to queer rights, a new BBC documentary demonstrates that it is not so long since Scotland was the UK’s regressive laggard.Jeff Meek, Research Assistant, Economic and Social History, University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/344422014-11-19T17:01:15Z2014-11-19T17:01:15ZWhere stop-and-search policing with a firearm became routine<p>Here’s a figure that deserves some attention: in the first year in which Scotland had a single police force, 8,000 stop searches were carried out by armed response officers, an average of 29 searches by each of the 275 officers involved. This does not happen in England and Wales, since armed response officers do not carry out routine duties. </p>
<p>This eye-watering statistic was cited in the Scottish police inspectorate’s <a href="http://www.hmics.org/publications/hmics-review-standing-firearms-authority-armed-response-vehicle-crews-within-police">recent review</a> of armed policing, but it was not a key finding. Instead it was cited in passing in a paragraph commenting on the value of armed response vehicle (ARV) officers undertaking routine policing duties.</p>
<p>The inspectorate clearly sees the use of stop and search by armed response officers as a matter of everyday policing, thereby echoing the <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/police-scotland/armed-policing/armed-policing-in-scotland">Police Scotland view</a> that it would be a “waste of valuable resource if they [ARV officers] didn’t continue with core duties”. Routine crime control, as it were. </p>
<p>It’s a seemingly pragmatic position, but it arguably misses the larger point. The presence of a 9mm sidearm significantly changes the dynamics of police-public interaction. In short, it’s no longer routine policing at all. </p>
<h2>Stop and search: some context</h2>
<p>Police with firearms make stop and search more intimidating. And <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/police-chief-determined-to-control-gun-issue.25571189">there’s a risk</a> of escalation and things going wrong. And above all, armed policing sits uneasily with the distinctive profile of stop and search in Scotland.</p>
<p>Stop and search is under-regulated in Scotland. Unlike England and Wales, where all stop searches must have legislative grounds, officers in Scotland can stop and search people on a non-statutory basis, meaning that they only have to give verbal consent. This means these searches are not based on legal authority. They don’t require reasonable suspicion, nor indeed any standard of suspicion. </p>
<p>Now given that 70% of recorded searches in Scotland <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/assets/126884/230479/scrutinytaskgroupreport">are non-statutory</a>, it seems fair to suggest that some of the 8,000 stop searches undertaken by armed response officers were without legal authority. This is a deeply unsettling prospect in itself – never mind the fact that the presence of a visible firearm arguably undermines any meaningful idea of consent. </p>
<p>The use of armed response officers on routine duties also sits uneasily with the age profile of stop and search, which tends to be weighted towards children and young people. In the first year of Police Scotland, approximately 640,000 stop searches <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/138327/232757/management-information-year-end-2013-14">were recorded</a>. </p>
<p>Of these, 36% were carried out on young people and children aged 19 years and younger; and 11% were carried out on children aged younger than 15. The peak age for stop and search is typically 16. These statistics suggest that at least some of the stop searches by armed response officers involved children and young people – again an unsettling prospect. </p>
<p>The larger point here is that policing doesn’t fall equally across the population, or even across local communities. Policing is more likely to coincide with more vulnerable sectors of society, with deprivation, and with people who tend not to have a voice. This makes the prospect of being stopped and searched by an armed response officer even more problematic.</p>
<h2>Under fire</h2>
<p>There may or may not be an important caveat to this. On October 1 2014, following a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11035383/Scotlands-controversial-armed-police-policy-to-be-reviewed.html">major political and media brouhaha</a>, the chief constable in Scotland <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-scotland-make-massive-u-turn-4363109">announced that</a> armed response officers would no longer be deployed on routine duties, though the standing authority for Scottish officers using firearms would remain in place. </p>
<p>Various reviews are underfoot, however, which suggests that the jury may still be out. In addition to the recent report for the inspectorate, which was favourable towards armed officers, an internal review into armed policing <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29444184">is underway</a>, due to report in January 2015. The Scottish Police Authority is also <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/news/2014/232066/240283/">carrying out</a> an ongoing review to assess public concerns over firearms officers on routine patrol, and “how Police Scotland might best address any public concerns”. </p>
<p>In the meantime <a href="http://www.hmics.org/publications/hmics-review-standing-firearms-authority-armed-response-vehicle-crews-within-police">the police inspectorate has recommended</a> armed response officers should be allowed to undertake routine duties, subject to local consultation. It said that Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority should re-engage with local authorities and other relevant groups to develop criteria for armed response officers to undertake non-firearm duties that would allow them to meaningfully contribute to local policing priorities. </p>
<p>Should Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority do this? It may be inadvisable. There’s the delicate matter of public confidence and support to consider. To date, the inception of Police Scotland has not been straightforward. The single police force has received an unprecedented (and arguably overdue) degree of political and media scrutiny, casting a critical spotlight on policies and practices that previously passed beneath the radar. </p>
<p>This has included a wider sense of disquiet around centralisation, lack of local input, weak accountability, and more rigid performance-management methods – all of which will have been noted in England and Wales, which is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/01/police-scotland-stephen-house-chief-constable">expected to</a> pursue a similar model. Deploying firearms officers on routine duties in Scotland has fed into the same deeply politicised narrative. In this context, armed stop and search does not look wise. Scotland’s police authorities would be advised to give this some serious reflection.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34442/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The PhD research on which this article is based was funded by the ESRC/Scottish Government</span></em></p>Here’s a figure that deserves some attention: in the first year in which Scotland had a single police force, 8,000 stop searches were carried out by armed response officers, an average of 29 searches by…Kath Murray, Research Fellow, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/291092014-07-14T11:33:14Z2014-07-14T11:33:14ZRising rape figures in Scotland could actually be a step forward<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53644/original/w8m2t43m-1405096282.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The reality about Scotland's rape stats might be counter-intuitive</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/morags_eyrie/131968350/in/photolist-4xHBKB-9oxGDt-5qhEU7-cEnAo-62gW3S-62gW3L-62gW53-62gW5b-62gW5q-dso8hB-8Uji52">Morag Eyrie</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As was confirmed recently by figures from Police Scotland, there has been a 23% increase in recorded cases of rape north of the border over the past year. In 2013-14, the first year of Police Scotland’s operation, the number of recorded rapes reached an <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/whats-happening/news/2014/june/232938/">unprecedented total of 1,690</a> – 300 more than the year before. The sharp rise in recorded rapes stands in contrast to a downward trend in recorded crime in recent years, including a 10% reduction in violent crime during 2013-14.</p>
<p>These figures raise questions about whether there has been an actual increase in rape, more people reporting rape, or simply a change in police practices. They also raise questions about trends in recorded rape over time and in other parts of the UK. </p>
<h2>Confidence rising?</h2>
<p>One explanation might be an increase in public confidence about the police response to reports of rape. Since the launch of Scotland’s single force in April 2013, rape has been acknowledged as an under-reported crime and prioritised within Scottish policing. The establishment of a national rape task force and dedicated rape investigation units has signalled a proactive approach to the crime. Further, police-led campaigns such as <a href="http://www.wecanstopit.co.uk/">We Can Stop It</a> are likely to have helped raise awareness that sex without consent constitutes rape, as defined by the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2009/9/contents">Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009</a>. </p>
<p>The Police Scotland figures for 2013-14 also reveal that historic cases have increased to account for 36% of all recorded rapes, and a third of cases were recorded in a domestic context. What is not apparent in the figures that have been released is the extent to which historic rapes and domestic rapes are rising. However, it is likely that the recent spate of high profile historic abuse cases and the cumulative impact of ongoing domestic abuse work by the police and organisations such as Women’s Aid have had the impact of increasing the number of rapes recorded in these categories. </p>
<h2>Or part of a trend?</h2>
<p>Having said that, this marked increase in recorded rapes should also be viewed in the context of a year-on-year increase in recorded rapes in Scotland. In 2010-11, 997 rapes were recorded and there has been a 70% increase on that figure over the three years since then. So while the 2013-14 increase is the largest annual rise to date, it is part of a pattern. </p>
<p>It is difficult to draw comparisons before 2010-11. This is because the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, which came into effect in December 2010, broadened the legal definition of rape to include oral and anal, as well as vaginal, penetration by a penis without consent or reasonable belief in consent. In effect, this also meant that male rape could also be recorded as rape rather than as another form of sexual offence.</p>
<p>It is reasonable to expect that widening the definition of rape would lead to a rise in recorded cases, but we lack sufficiently detailed comparative data to substantiate this trend. It also seems unlikely that this definitional change alone could account for the 70% increase in recorded rapes over the past four years. </p>
<h2>Comparing England and Wales</h2>
<p>It might help, then, to compare these figures from other UK regions. England and Wales have also witnessed a steady rise in rapes recorded by the police in recent years. In 2012-13, 17,061 rapes were recorded. This represents a 7% increase since 2010-11 – much lower than Scotland’s 38% increase over the same period. But this disparity needs to be treated with caution because police recording practices vary: not all rapes reported to the police are recorded as rapes.</p>
<p>Recent results from the <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/06/3479">Scottish Crime and Justice Survey</a> (SCJS) on sexual victimisation and stalking might provide a more comprehensive view of these trends, because it includes experiences irrespective of whether they have been reported to the police. Findings from the SCJS from 2010-11 to 2012-13 indicate that the proportion of adults who had experienced forced sex since the age of 16 increased from 1% to 2%.</p>
<p>This points to a possible rise in rape, though the relatively small numbers and rounding of percentages mean that we should be cautious about identifying a clear trend within this data. The terminology used by the SCJS is also at odds with the consent-based legal definition of rape since the survey uses questions about experiences of “forced sexual intercourse”. This means that even these figures may underestimate the true extent of rape, as defined in Scottish law.</p>
<h2>The under-reporting problem</h2>
<p>It is also important to remember that rape remains a notoriously under-reported crime. Figures on sexual victimisation from 2012-13 indicate that only 19% of those who experienced forced sexual intercourse since the age of 16 had reported an incident to the police. </p>
<p>Yet it is also worth bearing in mind that some respondents may be reluctant to report their experience to a survey, for many of the same reasons that they are reluctant to report to the police. This is unsurprising given that experiences of rape are often described as being accompanied by feelings of shame, embarrassment, guilt, fear, and a desire to suppress or minimise what has happened. According to the SCJS 2012-13, the main reasons given for not reporting forced intercourse to the police were fear that it might make matters worse (31%) and viewing it as a private/family/personal matter (23%).</p>
<p>In this context, the recent rise in recorded rapes may be viewed to some extent as a positive trend reflecting greater awareness and lower tolerance of rape, coupled with increased confidence in the police response to rape rather than simply an actual increase in rape. That said, it must be borne in mind that reporting is only the first stage of a complex and challenging process.</p>
<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>Looking to the future, it will be important to track the impact of new developments, such as the review of the criminal justice response to violence against women recently announced in the Scottish government’s <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/06/7483">ambitious new strategy</a> for preventing and eradicating violence against women. </p>
<p>Establishing robust systems for data collection will form an important part of understanding the effects of new developments in this field. The arrival of Police Scotland and unified national recording systems should go some way to providing meaningful comparative data in years to come. With a rate of almost five recorded rapes in Scotland every day, not to mention those that go unreported, it is imperative that improving responses to rape remain a top priority in Scotland and beyond.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29109/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oona Brooks-Hay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As was confirmed recently by figures from Police Scotland, there has been a 23% increase in recorded cases of rape north of the border over the past year. In 2013-14, the first year of Police Scotland’s…Oona Brooks-Hay, Lecturer in Criminology, University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/275582014-06-05T05:04:45Z2014-06-05T05:04:45ZThe loose rules at the heart of Scotland’s stop and search problem need tightened<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50287/original/vpszvn94-1401900436.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's an awful lot of it going on in Scotland</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/alfmelin/7755379142/in/photolist-4uaqEp-4uaqGB-atedez-atedsi-atedji-iRyqaH-4uetbG-ated3e-iCWEjF-ated92-gh7GK2-gh6WSo-iRwZ9V-iCWCLa-ezW79f-i8yxxd-iCYmEs-gh7dQM-e2aE4e-gh7jJm-9Bv4ea-nu1313-amiDoL-do4WJP-cPjm2u-fE6Bdc-fEoc3G-2ExDgz-8Gf1pZ-kSrNXR-iD1EvW-8Gf19Z-8mxbmg-8VTSDC-fLESfA-8VQNha-5gDptP-hKLUD6-5gDoyX-h2Do8L-DsQ5u-cj4Ets-dQmGiv-4KCWjY-dTLUrV-hKKWGQ-aBEc91-aBEcfG-d9ViT5-dTBUDs">Alf Melin</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As police inspector Nick Glynn <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/nick-glynn/stop-search_b_5416847.html">commented earlier this week</a>, most discussions on the subject of stop and search begin with something like, “stop and search is an essential crime fighting tool”. This prevents people from hearing anything else on the subject, effectively closing the debate.</p>
<p>It’s an important observation and it’s one we need to be mindful of in Scotland, where the debate on stop and search is in its infancy. To be clear, the fact that stop and search can detect and prevent crime is not in question here. But there are larger questions around this tactic, beginning with the sheer scale with which it is deployed north of the border. <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/assets/126884/230479/scrutinytaskgroupreport">Between April and December 2013</a>, the search rate in Scotland was 98 searches per 1,000 people in the population, compared to 31 searches per 1,000 in London. </p>
<p>In Scotland, the use of stop and search is largely unregulated. The <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/contents">Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984</a> does not extend up here, nor is there an equivalent to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pace-code-a-2013">PACE Code A</a>, which sets best practice for stop and search in England and Wales. The home secretary may be throwing the rulebook at forces in England and Wales at the moment, but in Scotland there’s no rulebook to throw.</p>
<h2>Step forward</h2>
<p>Having said that, the <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/news/2014/may2014/230686/">publication of</a> the <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk">Scottish Police Authority (SPA)</a> scrutiny review on stop and search last Friday marked an important shift in the debate north of the border. It was a sign of long overdue political engagement and a clear acknowledgement that the use of stop and search in Scotland is problematic – something that was not the case when <a href="http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Stop_and_Search_in_Scotland1.pdf">I published findings</a> comparing Scotland with other jurisdictions earlier in the year. </p>
<p>Importantly, the SPA review highlighted the extensive use of non-statutory stop and search in Scotland. Under the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/46/contents">statutory</a> search powers conferred <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2006/10/contents">by legislation</a> in Scotland, the police can stop and search people where they have reasonable grounds for suspecting certain types of criminal activity, such as possession of drugs. But beyond these statutory powers, police in Scotland can also search people on more uncertain grounds so long as they have verbal consent - a hazy idea if ever there was one. </p>
<p>This controversial and exceptionally flexible policing tool was prohibited further south more than a decade ago. It does not require reasonable suspicion, nor are officers required to inform people that they can refuse a search. </p>
<h2>Undemocratic powers</h2>
<p>The tactic also goes against the commonly held expectation that police powers in advanced democracies should be conferred by elected governments. Of the 519,213 stop searches undertaken in Scotland between April and December 2013, <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/assets/126884/230479/scrutinytaskgroupreport">approximately 70% were non-statutory</a>. That’s more than 366,000 searches carried out without statutory authority or reasonable suspicion within a nine-month period. </p>
<p>While the use of non-statutory stop and search <a href="http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/publications/non-statutory-stop-and-search-in-scotland/">has been justified</a> as a less adversarial policing approach, it raises a number of concerns in relation to the absence of codification, a lack of legal rights, and more generally how young people are policed in some parts of Scotland. As the SPA review notes, non-statutory searches are biased towards younger age groups, whose capacity to provide consent seems tenuous at best, particularly with searches falling on children as young as six. </p>
<p>Non-statutory searches are also significantly less likely to result in crime detection than statutory searches. Between <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/assets/126884/230479/scrutinytaskgroupreport">April and December 2013</a>, 16% of non-statutory searches resulted in detection (overwhelmingly as a result of alcohol searches), compared to 28% of statutory searches. </p>
<p>While this disparity raises questions as to the purpose of the tactic, it’s worth noting that stop and search in Scotland, like England and Wales, has been <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/police-warn-of-illegal-searches-in-bid-to-meet-new-targets.23075910">wrapped up in a target culture</a>, with the number of searches set either as a numerical target or key performance indicator over the last decade. Put simply, the non-statutory option provides an easier way of increasing the numbers. </p>
<h2>UK similarities – and differences</h2>
<p>More broadly, the conversation on stop and search in Scotland differs to that in England and Wales. In addition to regulatory differences, the social demographics of stop and search in Scotland are different, with searches falling overwhelmingly on white teenage boys in deprived neighbourhoods. Unlike England, stop and search in Scotland has not been politicised until recently, which may explain why it has been allowed to continue unchecked. </p>
<p>The fundamental issues are the same, though, namely the risk of unwarranted searches (so-called disproportionality) and the potentially damaging impact on people’s trust and confidence in the police. The use of stop and search matters and it needs to survive the current media scrum. The point is especially salient in Scotland, where political debate is in its early stages and the policy agenda over policing not fully established – particularly when the unified Police Scotland is <a href="https://theconversation.com/scotlands-single-police-force-has-had-teething-troubles-but-theres-progress-too-25177">barely a year old</a>. </p>
<p>As useful as stop and search can be, it is also a controversial power that goes to heart of the fragile balance between police powers and individual freedom. As such, it should be handled carefully. With this sense of gravity in mind, Police Scotland and the Scottish government’s response to the unfolding debate in the weeks and months ahead could be critical. </p>
<p>Specifically, Scottish policing needs to engage with questions in relation to when searches are warranted and the ways in which young people are policed, and these should be enshrined in a code that makes people’s rights clearer and makes lines less blurred. And the Scottish government needs to address the uncomfortable fact that most stop searches in Scotland lack statutory authority. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27558/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The PhD research on which this article is based was funded by the ESRC/Scottish Government </span></em></p>As police inspector Nick Glynn commented earlier this week, most discussions on the subject of stop and search begin with something like, “stop and search is an essential crime fighting tool”. This prevents…Kath Murray, PhD Candidate, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/251772014-04-08T14:10:14Z2014-04-08T14:10:14ZScotland’s single police force has had teething troubles, but there’s progress too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45869/original/ng67dykt-1396963214.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's been a reorder: What would Taggart have made of this Police Scotland malarkey?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">STV</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Break out the bunting: this month sees the first anniversary of one of the most important developments in the policing in Scotland – the creation of a unified force. </p>
<p>Police Scotland was created through the merger of eight Scottish territorial police forces and two national police organisations: the Scottish Police Services Authority, which provided support and forensic services to forces; and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, which led on serious organised crime and international links. </p>
<p>The change has been watched keenly in the rest of the UK, not least since former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Stevens <a href="http://independentpolicecommission.org.uk/commission-report-launched---monday-25th-november-2013">suggested in a report</a> late last year that similar unifications could take place in England and Wales. This echoed <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/scots-police-chief-says-englands-model-is-unsustainable.20675595">comments by</a> Police Scotland chief constable, Sir Stephen House, shortly before his agency was founded.</p>
<h2>Shotgun marriage</h2>
<p>Police Scotland is now the second-largest police organisation in the UK after the Metropolitan Police. The merger process was incredibly rapid, with less than six months elapsing between the appointment of <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/police-scotland/executive-team/chief-constable/">Chief Constable House</a> and the start of the new force. In consequence, this reform has been described as one of the biggest and most complex restructurings of a major public service in Scotland.</p>
<p>Against a background of increasing centralisation of policing under Scottish devolution, the pre-eminent reason for creating Police Scotland was to save money. In the Scottish parliament the <a href="http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/10/31/too-many-coppers-not-enough-pounds/">cabinet secretary for justice claimed</a> the measure would save £1.7 billion over 15 years. </p>
<p>Other arguments put forward by some senior police officers and academics included historical force boundaries being misaligned with the realities of modern crime and disorder; the need for a framework into which both local and, increasingly, national policing could fit; and equal delivery of police services to all parts of Scotland. In other words this process was not solely about merger, but also reform.</p>
<p>One year on, the new service has made good progress. The savings target of £60m in the first year will have been met. Community policing has been reinforced, underpinned by regional operational support services. Policing plans that reflect community needs have been put in place, not just for local command areas but also for each of the 353 council wards. </p>
<p>The benefits of a single police force are beginning to be seen: a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PoliceScotland/posts/522414014507689">national crime division</a> has been set up to carry out major investigations across the country and a <a href="http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/police-scotland/specialistcrime-division/">number of specialist task forces</a> have been established to deal with crime areas like rape, violence, human trafficking and public sector corruption.</p>
<h2>Strathclydisation</h2>
<p>The new service has also had its fair share of negative headlines, though. The overwhelming emphasis on cost cutting has <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/jobs-under-threat-as-police-control-rooms-face-the-axe.23257529">led to job losses for police support staff</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25967366">control centre closures</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-26090598">reduced public opening hours for police offices</a>. </p>
<p>The new system of police governance came under early strain with a dispute over the powers given to the new Scottish Police Authority on the one hand and the operational independence of the chief constable on the other – a battle which <a href="http://news.stv.tv/politics/230346-chief-constable-stephen-house-responsible-for-most-police-scotland-staff/">the chief constable won</a>. </p>
<p>Local government, which previously oversaw and partly funded their local police, has not always felt as fully consulted on local issues as it would like. </p>
<p>It was no surprise that the chief constable of Scotland’s largest force, Strathclyde Police, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-19720894">became the first chief constable of Scotland</a>. But what has surprised some is that the policing strategies and approaches used in Strathclyde would now be used in the country as a whole – dubbed “Strathclydisation” <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/several-forces-were-doing-right-thing-now-country-has-it-right.23724571">in the media</a>. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-could-axe-lenient-approach-to-sex-saunas-1-3129250">controversial crackdown</a> on Edinburgh’s liberal approach to controlling prostitution through licensed saunas was criticised as evidence of Strathclyde-style policing being extended, unacceptably, to a different part of the country. </p>
<p>Similarly the focus of Police Scotland is on keeping people safe, which has meant that “enforcement” has become the key purpose of policing. Although recognising the need to work in partnership with other agencies, Chief Constable House is <a href="http://www.apexscotland.org.uk/docs/ApexScotland_annual_lecture_2013.pdf">quite clear on this</a>: “My view is policing doesn’t solve problems. We are not a solutions agency, we are a restraint agency.”</p>
<p>Arguably the biggest controversy to hit Police Scotland relates to performance indicators and in particular to the use of stop-and-search powers within those. A <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/several-forces-were-doing-right-thing-now-country-has-it-right.23724571">recent research study</a> from Edinburgh University revealed that the 2012/13 search rate in the former Strathclyde Police area was more than four times higher than the “stop-and-frisk” rate in New York.</p>
<h2>Stop and search spreads</h2>
<p>Since Police Scotland was set up there are indications of a significant increase in stop and search in areas outside Strathclyde. The Scottish Police Authority’s <a href="http://www.spa.police.uk/assets/126884/182522/182532">first-quarter figures</a> for 2013/14 showed a 75% increase in Edinburgh, for example. </p>
<p>Police Scotland has been on the back foot in defending the spread of this Strathclyde strategy. In particular, it has become a focus for wider questions about how far the work of police officers is defined by performance targets rather than their own discretion; and the extent to which there is a national style of policing emerging which may not be appropriate to all of Scotland’s varied communities.</p>
<p>While the debate about this change in approach to policing in Scotland continues, there will also be further major challenges in the future for the new service. Not least will be the need to keep reducing costs while bound by a Scottish government commitment to maintain police officer numbers at their present strength. </p>
<p>But one year on, Police Scotland has achieved much of what the supporters of a single police force hoped for. Many in Scotland and no doubt elsewhere will be justified in regarding that as progress. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25177/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kenneth Scott has received funding from the Scottish Institute for Policing Research and the Carnegie Trust.</span></em></p>Break out the bunting: this month sees the first anniversary of one of the most important developments in the policing in Scotland – the creation of a unified force. Police Scotland was created through…Kenneth Scott, Honorary Professor, Centre for Criminal Justice and Police Studies, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.