MAY THE FORCE BE WITH HIM!
After five years of blunders, scandals, resignations rock-bottom morale and bitter political acrimony, Police Scotland appoints a new Chief Constable...
THE top officer who took charge of Scotland’s single police force after a bullying scandal has been appointed Chief Constable.
Iain Livingstone was deputy to Phil Gormley, who quit in February amid a major political row sparked by a series of probes into gross misconduct allegations.
Mr Livingstone, a former footballer and solicitor, cancelled his retirement plans last September, when Mr Gormley stepped aside on ‘special leave’, to take the helm of the crisis-stricken force.
The decision by the Scottish Police authority (SPA) to appoint Mr Livingstone as chief, on a salary of £216,549, comes after years of turmoil in Scottish policing, which saw the first two chief constables quit amid political rows, high-profile blunders and plunging morale among the rank and file.
Last night, Mr Livingstone told the Mail that he wanted to ‘change and modernise’ the service, but this must be ‘built on traditional Scottish policing values of public service and duty’. he added: ‘I am extremely proud and humbled to be appointed as
Scotland’s next Chief Constable. It is a great responsibility and opportunity to lead a 22,000-strong team of dedicated and committed professionals, and to harness their ideas and potential in the service of the people of Scotland.
‘Policing has been my life and the demands on it are developing faster today than at any time in my career.
‘It is my job now to lead and drive change in policing to adapt to those challenges and to build on the values, ethos and traditions of policing in Scotland that first attracted me to this profession 26 years ago.’
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said the appointment followed ‘significant uncertainty at Police Scotland’, and he hoped that the new chief’s ‘experience will bring some stability to the force’.
Mr Livingstone, 51, will formally take up the post on August 27, and the appointment will be for a fixed term of four years ‘with the possibility of extension in line with legislation’.
Calum Steele, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, representing rank-and-file officers, said: ‘This brings to an end a long period of uncertainty during which Iain Livingstone had the responsibility but not necessarily the power.
‘It would be naive to believe that one person can come in like a knight on a white charger and the future will be rosy, as policing is an inherently complex service.
‘But Mr Livingstone does appear to
‘An outstanding police leader’
have the support of much of the workforce, and that is different to his predecessors, whatever strengths and weaknesses they had.
‘It is a tremendous benefit to the force to have someone who enjoys that support, and will be given the time to prove himself as a leader.’
Professor Susan Deacon, SPA chairman and head of the selection panel which interviewed candidates for the role, said: ‘Iain Livingstone is an outstanding police leader who has made an exceptional contribution to policing in Scotland.
‘I am confident that as Chief Constable, working together with a recently strengthened leadership team, he will provide renewed stability, purpose and direction to Police Scotland after a demanding and challenging period.
‘This is a significant milestone in our continued efforts to strengthen the leadership and governance of policing in Scotland. I look forward to working with Iain Livingstone and his team as we continue to develop policing to keep people safe and meet the needs of a changing Scotland.’
Mr Livingstone’s rival candidates for the top job were Bill Skelly, head of Lincolnshire Police and a former senior officer north of the Border, and Johnny Gwynne, currently Deputy Chief Constable at Police Scotland.
The force has been beset by blunders since its creation and still faces the prospect of prosecution over the M9 tragedy – when a woman was left dying by the roadside for three days after a road crash because of alleged call-handling mistakes – and the case of Sheku Bayoh, who died amid claims of police brutality. The Crown Office is examining both cases.
Mr Livingstone has been Police Scotland’s Deputy Chief Constable Designate since May 2016. Previously, he was Deputy Chief Constable for Crime and Operations since Police Scotland was formed in 2013.
He graduated in law from the Universities of Aberdeen and Strathclyde, working as a solicitor in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, before joining the police in 1992.
Prior to the formation of Police Scotland, he served with Lothian and Borders Police.
His career has included external attachments to the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland as a special investigator and to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary as a member of Lord Bonomy’s review of corroboration.
He sits on the Scottish Sentencing Council and was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in May 2015.
Mr Livingstone is accountable to the SPA and responsible for managing annual resources of more than £1billion.
But he has been at the centre of controversy in the past, with a female officer accusing him of sexually assaulting her at the Tulliallan police college in 2000. Mr Livingstone admitted that he had acted inappropriately by falling asleep in the woman’s room, although he was cleared of any sexual misconduct.
He was initially demoted from
superintendent to constable following a disciplinary hearing. But he strongly denied any impropriety and was reinstated following an appeal – paving the way for his eventual promotion to Chief Constable.
Yesterday’s announcement follows other recent senior leadership appointments made by the SPA, including those of Fiona Taylor and Will Kerr on June 11, both to the position of Deputy Chief Constable.
On June 14, the SPA announced the appointment of Gillian MacDonald, Angie McLaren and Alan Speirs as Assistant Chief Constables. The SPA is expected to announce the appointment of its new chief executive ‘in the coming weeks’.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf, who approved the SPA’s appointment, said: ‘Iain will head up a strong senior officer team providing stability, support and clear direction for Police Scotland’s officers and staff in the months and years ahead.
‘I look forward to working with the new Chief Constable and the SPA as the service continues to strengthen national and local partnerships and how it works with the public in order to help keep crime down and communities safe.’