Call For Break-Up Of Police Force

A former SNP leader is calling for Police Scotland to be federalised - and for its governing body to be scrapped.

Gordon Wilson's comments come after a number of controversies involving the force - including the handling of the death of Sheku Bayoh and the response to an off-road car crash on the M9 near Stirling. He wants 4 regional divisions to be established, and for the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee to oversee them.

The Scottish Police Authority, the body that oversee the work of the police, would be scrapped under his plans.

He said: "Rarely in the history of police forces has everything fallen apart as in the case of Police Scotland.

"The problems cannot be resolved by cosmetic actions such as a change in Chief Constable and calls for the resignation of the current Chief Sir Stephen House are puerile and nothing more than shallow political posturing. Real thought is needed and this is why I am launching an Options paper setting out substantial ideas for change in the hope that it will stir debate. This is a challenge to the Labour, Conservative Parties as well as to the Government. Carping on the side-lines is not enough. It is time to engage on an intelligent basis.

"But the key change must be to restore community policing to local direction and control. This means changes to the roles of both Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. The latter body has proved toothless in promoting local policing principles over community policing. This is hardly surprising since it is a centralised quango. It has yet to justify its existence. Is it necessary?"

Vital role

His proposals are:

• Decentralise Police Scotland on a federal basis by re-establishing regional forces in 4 areas. Suggested are police units in Edinburgh and the Borders; Strathclyde; Tayside Central & Fife; and Grampian and Highlands and Islands.
• Each regional unit to have a Chief Constable.
• Local authorities to exercise joint oversight.
• Police Scotland to be run by a federal Executive Board consisting of a Chief Constable as executive chair, a Deputy Chief Constable as vice chair, the four regional Chief Constables and a Director of Finance. Other specialist officers and directors may be in attendance but have no decision-making role.
• Abolition of the Scottish Police Authority.
• Transfer of national oversight to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee in a quasi-judicial capacity and equip it with research back up.
• Enhance the independent tasks of the Police and Investigations Review Commissioner and the Inspectorate.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The creation of a single service, backed by cross-party support across the Scottish Parliament, represented the most significant public sector reform in Scotland since devolution.

“Although there have been challenges, policing in Scotland continues to perform excellently, supported by the 1000 extra officers we have delivered. Recorded crime in Scotland is at a 40-year low, violent crime is down 10 per cent in the last year alone, and crimes of handling an offensive weapon have dropped by 62 per cent since 2006-07.
 
“A single service has removed the artificial barriers of previous force areas and allows all parts of Scotland better access to specialist services and equipment than ever before. We have confidence that the Scottish Police Authority will continue to perform a vital role in ensuring Police Scotland is held to account.
 
“Police in Scotland are accountable to the SPA, not Ministers. The ability of our police to continue to operate without political interference – a long-standing principle in Scotland – is of fundamental importance and we have absolutely no plans to change this.”