What is HMICS? 
HMICS is responsible for inspecting the eight Scottish police forces and five police services.
HMICS operates independently of police forces, police authorities and the Scottish Government and exists to monitor and improve police services in Scotland. HMICS does this by:
- Inspecting and advising police forces and the services provided by the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA)
- Carrying out 'Thematic' Inspections
- Providing advice to Scottish Ministers
Even though HMICS is independent of the Scottish Government, Ministers can call upon the Inspectorate to undertake particular pieces of work.
Latest HMICS news
| Publication date | Article |
|---|
| 19 June 2009 | A multi-agency inspection report on the Assessment and management of offenders who present a high risk of serious harm has just been released. See our publications section below for more information. |
| 25 March 2009 | The thematic report on strategic priority setting in Scottish forces has just been published. See our publications section below for more information. |
| 6 March 2009 | The Statistics section of our website has been updated with information for financial year 2007/08. |
| 26 January 2009 | The thematic report on the Police use of firearms in Scotland has just been published. See our publications section below for more information. |
| 23 January 2009 | The report of the Independent review of policing carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland has been published today. See our publications section below for more information. |
| 8 December 2008 | The annual report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland for 2007-08 has just been published along with the first annual report of the Scottish Policing Performance Framework. See our publications section below for more information. |
Work of HMICS
The full role and remit of HMICS is contained on our 'About Us' page.
Work is currently being undertaken in HMICS to refine and improve our approach to inspection. The main details of this change programme are available here.
Further information on HMICS, including copies of our Inspection reports can be found via the links on the left. Recent publications are available below.
Recent publications