Police officers in Scotland who abuse their position should face a similar criminal charge to their colleagues south of the border, a watchdog has demanded.
The Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, Craig Naylor, has used his annual report to call on the Scottish Government to consider new legislation on misconduct in public office.
Naylor said while police constables in England and Wales can face a charge of committing misconduct in public office, no such offence exists for officers in Scotland.
Officers in English and Welsh services have recently faced misconduct in public office charges in relation to offences including the inappropriate sharing of information, or unauthorised access to police systems.
Mr Naylor would like to see a new misconduct in public office law introduced in Scotland, to help strengthen public trust in the professional standards of Police Scotland’s officers and staff, and in the policing system.
Launching the HMICS Annual Report for 2023-24, Mr Naylor said: “One aspect of this area
of policing that is missing in Scotland is the concept of misconduct in public office.
“This charge has a high evidential test but is used, sparingly, in England and Wales, where it exists as an option when there is misuse of the office of constable.
“This test, and the case law associated with it, provides options that could strengthen public protection from officers or staff who misuse their position for personal gain.
“Establishing a code of ethics based upon a legislative position as proposed in the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill, will put the service in a strong position.
“I support this legislation and hope that it progresses through the parliamentary process to allow for the changes needed to assure the public.”
Over the past 12 months HMICS has carried out reviews in areas including the organisational culture of Police Scotland and the wellbeing of its officers and staff.
As a result of the reviews HMICS conducted in 2023/24, Mr Naylor has raised concerns including that too much of frontline officers’ time is being taken up responding to mental-health related incidents.
He said these should be managed primarily by health and social care services.
Work is now ongoing across government, health and other partners to ensure those who experience a mental health crisis get the most appropriate response to improve their wellbeing.
A further HMICS report revealed low staffing levels, disruption of rest days and the poor state of many police buildings were among issues making officers feel vulnerable and at times unsafe.
The report called on Police Scotland to develop a cohesive wellbeing strategy that addressed what really impacted on the physical and mental health of their officers and staff.
The HMICS annual report for 2023/24 is the first to be published since new Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell took up her post in October last year.
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