Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 25 November 2020
I welcome the opportunity to speak in this afternoon’s debate. Dame Elish Angiolini has produced a significant and wide-ranging report, which has many important recommendations on areas in which we need to see prompt action.
The Home Office commissioned Dame Elish Angiolini to produce a report into deaths in custody in the UK, which was published in October 2017. As the cabinet secretary knows, I have raised concerns and called for reform in that area, following my engagement with the family of Sheku Bayoh, who died in police custody in May 2015 after his arrest on the street in Kirkcaldy. Mr Bayoh’s family and friends have suffered, and it has been a long journey for them to the public inquiry, which needs to provide them with answers and make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.
Following the 2017 report, I called for comparable work to be undertaken in Scotland. I welcome the broad manner in which the independent review into complaints handling, investigations and misconduct issues in relation to policing has been approached.
Labour’s amendment highlights the worrying evidence that is presented by the report of the racism, homophobia and misogyny that are experienced by police officers in the force. I have to say that I was disappointed by part of the response of the Scottish Police Federation. It is regrettable that the SPF gave the impression that it was downplaying the criticism by describing the police service that is portrayed in the report as one that it did not recognise, when it is clear that the report reflects the lived experience of police officers who have been affected by an unacceptable culture. I support the need for a fundamental review of equality matters, and I welcome the chief constable’s commitment to an independent review.
I welcome the recommendation that deaths in custody be treated with the same urgency as homicide investigations, and that the family of the deceased have access to free legal advice and representation from the earliest point and throughout any subsequent inquiry. I have seen how overwhelming it is to deal with the immediate investigation and then the police complaints system and to attempt to find answers, all while dealing with grief and the loss of a loved one. Access to free legal advice would go some way towards addressing the imbalance that is felt by a family that has experienced a death in custody, and providing support at a traumatic time.
It was 30 days before the police officers who attended the arrest of Sheku Bayoh gave evidence to the PIRC. On the day of Mr Bayoh’s death, officers all returned to the same station and spent eight hours together. I understand that police officers are entitled to the same protection as all citizens; however, the current legislation and regulations—and, in the Sheku Bayoh case, the guidance at the time—create an environment that makes it possible for information not to be shared at key moments in an investigation. That is not acceptable, and the recommendation that all police officers should be interviewed swiftly, and without contact with other officers, in death-in-custody cases is an obvious reform that needs to happen. The recommendation that early retirement would not exclude police officers from gross misconduct cases is important, as it would retain and strengthen accountability.
The recommendations regarding the PIRC identify some of the key issues that have risked undermining the PIRC’s reputation. There is a need to balance the number of former police officers in the PIRC with expertise from outside the force, and to increase transparency and accountability, as well as democratic oversight.
Although there will be those who defend the current system of police complaints and the role of the PIRC, the report addresses significant issues on which we need to see demonstrable progress. The report is extensive, and I have focused on only a few issues that have been central to my work as an MSP.
It is only a few weeks since the publication of the report into policing during the miners’ strike, which made it clear that when the police become isolated from the community, and lack transparency and accountability, the souring of that relationship can last for years, and it can be difficult to rebuild trust. Our police force must be welcoming and inclusive to all, which can only strengthen its position in our communities.
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