Police Scotland: the UK’s second-largest force is also grappling with misogyny and racism

• Police Scotland, the UK’s second-largest force, may not face a crisis in public trust and confidence of the same scale.
• Following the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, police leaders did not consider racism to be a problem in Scotland’s policing.
• Bayoh’s family has repeatedly insisted his death was a consequence of disproportionate use of force and motivated by racial bias.
• 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.

Recruitment and retention

• Meanwhile, a higher proportion of officers from minority backgrounds continue to leave the force.
• Or they were on friendly terms with those who engaged in this behaviour, leaving little room for victims to speak out.
• The HMICS 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.
• 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.

Weak accountability

• In 2013, Scotland’s local police forces were merged into one, and the Scottish Police Authority was created to replace local police boards.
• This, coupled with a lack of formal powers for local democratic oversight of policing, has resulted in weak and lopsided police governance in Scotland.
• And the Scottish Police Authority’s own board and senior executive team lacks any representation from minority ethnic backgrounds.
• The first minister will have several party-specific issues dividing his attention, including a lack of transparency or rigorous accountability in the party.