Planning your safety

Dear Editor As is common with a number of organisations Police Scotland constantly reviews its sense of purpose and core functions to help to ensure that it meets the needs of the people it serves.

Our new Chief Constable Phil Gormley was appointed last year, and after a period of close scrutiny he has outlined a 10-year plan to rationalise and modernise the service.

This process will be underpinned by four key pillars which are:

· Protecting the public – This is of course our key focus and is about working closely in our communities in order to understand the threats posed to those most vulnerable to harm and to take action to support these people and to mitigate the risks

· Localism and serving diverse communities – Every area has varying needs and it is important that we listen closely to our diverse communities and deliver, along with our partner agencies, solutions that improve the lives of those who we serve

· A sustainable operating model - In order to meet the needs outlined above we must have the right resources in the right places at the right time.

· Culture and performance – We must ensure that our workforce has the right skills and ability to address the changing and emergent demands and to ensure we deliver an excellent service for our Scottish communities for the long term.

These pillars are set against a backdrop of a 40 year low in recorded crime in Scotland

The Chief Constable has made it clear that he will empower local police leaders to use their discretion and to make local decisions. We are presently reviewing our local community policing plan in order to improve local engagement.

Police Scotland are facing unprecedented challenges and we won’t get everything right all of the time. We fully expect you to hold us to account, but I can promise that we will strive to deliver excellent local policing and will endeavour to gain your trust and confidence.