Hansard

I am pleased to open the debate on the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill. I express my thanks to the committees that took part in considering the bill. In particular, I thank the members of the Criminal Justice Committee for their detailed scrutiny and for gathering a wide range of views in written and oral evidence. I must also thank the clerks to the Criminal Justice Committee.

I thank everyone who has engaged with the committee and with the Government during the development and passage of the bill. I say a special thank you to those with lived experience of the police complaints and misconduct systems for their testimony, which was instrumental in developing the bill, and to Lady Elish Angiolini, whose recommendations formed the basis of the bill. I also want to make mention of, and express my particular thanks to, my bill team for their excellent support throughout the passage of the bill.

Police Scotland officers and staff work tirelessly to protect and support our communities. I reiterate how much I value the hard work and dedication of our police officers, who conduct themselves with integrity and professionalism, and that of the whole policing workforce.

The principle of policing by consent is central to the mutual bonds of trust between the public and the police, so it is of the utmost importance that the public have confidence in our police service. We need to have trust that those who serve in the police continue to meet the very high standards of behaviour and conduct that we expect throughout their careers. It is therefore essential that there are robust, clear and transparent mechanisms in place to investigate complaints or other issues of concern about the police, and that, if things go wrong, the police must be held to account, lessons learned and improvements made.

The bill has four main purposes: to raise and embed the ethical standards of the police service; to strengthen the statutory framework on vetting; to reform how police misconduct is dealt with; and, finally, to broaden the role of the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner and therefore provide greater independent scrutiny of police complaints handling in Scotland.

The bill cannot be viewed in isolation, however. It is a further step on the journey of transformative change that has been delivered since the independent review by the former Lord Advocate, Dame Elish Angiolini, of complaints handling, investigations and misconduct issues in relation to policing in Scotland. I will highlight some specific provisions that have the potential to bring about real and lasting change.

The bill enables the Scottish police barred list and the police advisory list, which will capture information about police constables who have engaged, or who are suspected of engaging, in serious misconduct. That information can then be shared as appropriate.

There is a strong public interest in dealing with allegations of gross misconduct that are made after officers leave the service. The bill will ensure that a conclusion is reached and, if that conclusion is that the officer would have been dismissed had they still been an officer, the person will be added to the barred list. The lists will improve police integrity, increase accountability of those who are dismissed from policing and support police vetting right across the United Kingdom.

The bill also puts a statutory obligation on the chief constable to prepare, regularly review and disseminate a code of ethics. There are extensive consultation requirements for the development and maintenance of the code, which reinforce its significance and embed a human rights-based approach to policing.

Every person who holds the office of constable and has the powers of that office has a higher duty to account for their own actions and for the actions of others that they have witnessed in the execution of their duties. Therefore, the explicit duty of candour on constables, and also on Police Scotland as an organisation, is another significant provision in the bill.

Several features will strengthen the role of the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, including the power to take over the consideration of complaints that are being dealt with by the chief constable or the Scottish Police Authority and the transfer of certain functions from the authority to the PIRC. Taken together, those provisions strengthen independent scrutiny of the police complaints and misconduct systems.

I have been open to making improvements to the bill throughout the process, while maintaining a firm focus on what it seeks to achieve. The committee’s significant recommendation that the bill should include a power for the chief constable to remove someone who is unable to maintain their vetting was delivered at stage 2. As stated in his recent letter to the Criminal Justice Committee, His Majesty’s chief inspector of constabulary reminded us that putting vetting on a statutory footing was vital and will ensure

“that all officers and staff meet and sustain the standards required and that the public are served by a workforce that they can trust.”

I thank the members who have engaged with me throughout the passage of the bill to make improvements at each stage. That includes Sharon Dowey, who lodged an amendment ensuring that victims, survivors, witnesses or suspects and the accused have the opportunity to have their voices heard as consultees in the preparation of the code of ethics. She also lodged an amendment to create a one-off duty on the chief constable to review and make changes to the policies, procedures and guidance that relate to misconduct in light of the code of ethics.

Katy Clark’s amendments increase transparency by obliging the chief constable to explain their reasons either for not revising the code or, in the case that it is revised, for why particular representations made by mandatory consultees did not result in a change. That will assure both officers and the public that the code is keeping pace with ethical standards.

The bill will ensure that the police complaints and misconduct systems are fairer and more transparent, accountable and proportionate, which will ultimately help to strengthen public confidence in policing in Scotland.

I move,

That the Parliament agrees that the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill be passed.