Criminal past doesn’t mean you can’t join police, declares chief
CRIMINALS should not be barred from getting jobs with Scotland’s police force, the Chief Constable has said.
Sir Iain Livingstone said candidates should be judged on ‘personal circumstances’ – and a conviction should not automatically exclude an applicant.
Figures this week showed the number of officers has slumped to the lowest level since 2008, prompting fears over a growing manpower crisis.
Leaders of rank-and-file police personnel have already ordered a work-to-rule in a row over pay.
Sir Iain spoke as Police Scotland launched a recruitment drive amid fears that the reduction in officer numbers has sparked a fall in morale.
Earlier this week Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland said looming budget cuts would put further strain on the force.
Explaining the protocol for hiring people with criminal convictions, Sir Iain told the Mail: ‘Every individual, by definition, is an individual with their own personal circumstances.
‘If there has been an indiscretion as a juvenile, or an adult, what lies behind that?
‘What was the nature of it? Does it show real concern – would it undermine public confidence?
‘So our approach is always to look at the individual and the individual circumstances.
‘Some convictions around about integrity, honesty, would never be accepted.’
He added: ‘We constantly need to refresh. Anybody can be a police officer – age, stage, background, academic qualifications, people with doctorates, people with no academic qualifications, that’s what makes policing rewarding.
‘If you’re committed and you’ve got that sense of public service, I want you to consider policing.’
In September last year, a former chief superintendent said young criminals should be recruited to help them avoid a life of crime.
Niven Rennie, director of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, part of Police Scotland, proposed the policy while unveiling moves to crack down on violent offending.
He said: ‘Just because you’ve got a criminal conviction, doesn’t mean you can’t answer the telephone; it doesn’t mean you can’t serve on a public counter; it doesn’t mean you can’t drive a van.’
Police Scotland had 16,610 officers at the end of June 2022, the lowest number since Police Scotland was launched in 2013.
Last night Scottish Tory justice spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘The public will be very concerned to hear that convicted criminals may be considered as candidates to join the police force.’
However, Alan Staff of Apex Scotland, which supports exoffenders, said: ‘This is a brave and enlightened statement and something we would definitely welcome. There will be some caveats and inevitably certain convictions would rule you out from certain positions.
‘But this is an encouraging development.’
‘Would it undermine public confidence?’