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Scottish Policing Board
24/06/2009
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill today set out how the Scottish Government would work with Scotland's police forces and local authorities to meet the challenges of policing Scotland.
In the Scottish Government's response to the Independent Review of Policing carried out by the former Chief Inspector of Constabulary Paddy Tomkins, Mr MacAskill announced the setting up of a new Scottish Policing Board to look at top level issues facing Scotland.
Issues to be considered by the new group could include the threat from cross-border criminality such as human trafficking, e-crime, terrorism or fraud and ways to ensure our eight police forces have the systems and structures to enable them to work together seamlessly.
The Board, to be chaired by the Justice Secretary, will include police and local government representatives. It will hold its first meeting in the Autumn.
In his response, Mr MacAskill also announced that it is proposed to continue with the current arrangements for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for now but to keep these under review.
Kenny MacAskill said:
"Scotland's police forces serve our communities well. This Government has shown our support for the vital work they do in tackling crime and protecting our citizens by funding the recruitment of an additional 1,000 officers.
"At the beginning of this month, we announced that for the first time on record there are more than 17,000 police officers in Scotland.
"However policing in 21st Century Scotland is becoming increasingly complex, with new technology and changes in society bringing greater challenges to the police.
"That is why I asked Paddy Tomkins to carry out an independent review of policing to ensure that Scotland's citizens can continue to be well served by our police service.
"The Scottish Policing Board, which will meet later this year, will bring together for the first time central and local government partners with the police to identify and consider the key strategic priorities for policing across Scotland.
"It will act as a single collective voice for policing, helping to strengthen governance and accountability at a national level.
"Already with our commitment to recruit an additional 1,000 police officers we have signalled our commitment to build policing capacity and capability.
"This new body will make sure that the challenges facing our police do not impact on frontline policing and help ensure that Scotland's communities continue to be well served by our police service."
The Independent Review of Policing was carried out by the then Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Policing in Scotland, Paddy Tomkins, and the report was published in January 2009. The report identified an opportunity to improve governance and accountability for policing issues at a national level. The central recommendation of the report was to set up a national group to look at these issues.
The Scottish Government has taken forward a series of discussions with policing and local government stakeholders since February, culminating in a workshop on June 16. There is a broad acceptance of the idea of a policing group for Scotland to identify and consider key risks, and to consider how these can best be addressed.
A project team will be set up to develop collective thinking in preparation for the first meeting, overseen by a reference group representing the police, central and local government.