Police

Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee has called for urgent clarification after it emerged Police Scotland withheld a damning report that warned of a “boys’ club” culture in the force. The Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Human Rights Independent Review Group (IRG) was set

More than 10,000 arrest warrants are currently outstanding in Scotland, with police leaders warning they lack the resources to clear the backlog. Figures show 10,064 warrants were active on 3 September, up from 9,071 last November. They include seven for murder, 42 for rape and attempted rape, five

The number of police investigations into missing persons has "fallen significantly" since a national framework was implemented to support those most at risk. In 2017-18 Police Scotland conducted 22,966 investigations for people who were missing with one in two of those investigations for a person wh

A new report has called on Police Scotland to improve the quality of its uniforms after a review revealed many officers are buying their own trousers, fleeces, boots and jackets rather than wear the poor quality and ill-fitting kit provided. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland found that whi

Rights and equalities groups have condemned Police Scotland’s announcement that it will continue work to introduce live facial recognition technology, warning of “racial injustice, creeping surveillance and democratic erosion”.  Fourteen rights and racial justice organisations

Police Scotland has been accused of sexism, misogyny and violence against women at both institutional and individual levels, according to a review obtained under freedom of information laws. The findings come from a “deep dive” analysis by the Independent Review Group, which had already

Police Scotland has run internal training courses to support officers with reading, writing, statement-taking and everyday speech, prompting concerns about the calibre of new recruits. A freedom of information request by The Herald confirmed the training was delivered in collaboration with SEMPER Sc

Police Scotland has been urged to strengthen its data handling after almost 1,400 breaches were recorded over the past three years. Incidents included the loss or theft of technology used by officers, unauthorised access to systems or data, and misplaced identity cards and keys.

Police Scotland has been criticised for a “lack of pace” in addressing persistent issues affecting the care of detainees in custody centres, following the latest joint inspection by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). The new rep

Retail trade union Usdaw is concerned by the continued growing trend of shoplifting incidents in Scotland, which have more than doubled since the pandemic, alongside a persistent decline in police ‘clear-up’ rates for the offence. The union welcomes that the protection of retail workers

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have warned that the police need the right skills and resources to tackle online sex crimes as new annual crime statistics showed sex crimes are now at their second highest level since 1971 when records began. Figures from Police Scotland show that:

Police representatives have formally complained to Glasgow museum authorities over part of an exhibition at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum which they allege presents a biased portrayal of policing in connection with slavery, colonialism and the death of Sheku Bayoh. The Scottish Police Federatio

Public inquiries are imposing an "escalating and unsustainable burden" on Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has claimed, citing a growing financial and operational crisis exacerbated by six major inquiries currently under way. In evidence submitted to Holyrood’s Finance and

The Scottish government needs to be wary of workforce pressures that are hitting the police as new figures confirmed that there remain around 1,000 fewer officers today than when Police Scotland was formed, the Scottish Liberal Democrats said. New figures reveal there were 16,553 full-time equi

The state of Scotland’s police estate has been revealed in new figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives.  A freedom of information response received by the party details that 333 police stations require repairs.