Police

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.

Funding for new police vans and training for officers and dog wardens has been agreed following a Responsible Dog Ownership Summit hosted by the Scottish government. Police Scotland has received £166,000 to train officers to identify banned breeds and buy specially-equipped vans to transport d

The introduction of body-worn video cameras will bring “huge benefits” to Police Scotland, chief constable Jo Farrell has said. Speaking as officers at Bell Street police station in Dundee became the first to receive cameras, she said she hopes all officers on the front lines will be equ

The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner has raised concerns about the quality of custody photographs taken by Police Scotland of people they arrest. In a new report, Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow said a “sizeable proportion” of custody images taken between 2019 and 2024 are of such low qual

Police Scotland’s investigation of historical and unresolved murders, their response to allegations of child abuse, and their policing of serious and organised crime groups are among topics HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) has selected for review in its three-year inspection