The Herald

Confidence in police ‘at new low’

Renewed calls for chief constable to resign following tragedy on M9

- FRANK OLIVER NEWS REPORTER

PUBLIC confidence in Police Scotland is “unravellin­g”, it has been claimed, as the chief constable faced renewed pressure to resign. Hugh Henry, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, spoke out after a series of revelation­s about the force and its watchdog, the Scottish Police Authority.

The pressure on the police and its watchdog follows the accident on the M9, when Lamara Bell, 25, died after being left in a wrecked car for three days after police failed to attend to a report of a crash.

She lay in the Renault Clio beside her boyfriend John Yuill, 28, who was already dead when police reached the scene.

Yesterday a report said that police were warned about risks in cutting the number of centres handling emergency calls 18 months before the M9 incident.

A report in 2014 noted the poten- tial problems of reducing the number of contact, command and control sites from 11 to four.

The report warned of “disadvanta­ges” to the scheme, adding: “Due to the wide geographic­al dispersal of sites, any reduction to the number of sites creates challenges in retaining existing experience­d staff within this operation area.”

Last week it emerged that East Command Area Control at Bilston Glen, said to have taken the message on the M9 crash, had an absence rate of 10 per cent a month before the incident.

It has since emerged that two thirds of staff at the call centre had applied for voluntary redun- dancy before the tragedy. About 88 out of a workforce of 138 applied to leave in January.

More than 53,000 working days at Police Scotland have been lost to stress in the past two years, according to figures from Scottish Labour.

Between January and March this year, more than 10,000 absences were recorded due to anxiety and depression.

It also emerged yesterday that that the board of the Scottish Police Authority was split over the performanc­e of its chairman, Vic Emery, who has separately announced he is to stand down. Sir Stephen House is due to leave next year.

But Hugh Henry, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, said: “It is becoming clear that the events leading to the tragic deaths of John Yuill and Lamara Bell were not isolated.

“Officers and members of the public are coming forward to reveal a force in crisis with people across Scotland, in some cases, waiting hours for a response. It now appears the police were warned that the closure of call centres could lead to the loss of experience­d staff.

“Public confidence in Police Scotland is unravellin­g.

“The only way to restore confidence is for Sir Stephen House to do the right thing and resign with immediate effect.”

A Scottish Police Authority spokesman said: “The creation of Police Scotland and the SPA is the largest public sector reorganisa­tion since devolution. We understand that has meant officers and staff working though periods of transition and with some uncertaint­y.”

‘‘ The only way to restore confidence is for Sir Stephen House to do the right thing and resign

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