THE WORLD’S POLICEMAN
Scots force’s cross-border contracts with law enforcers
Superintendent Shaun Mckillop could not be clearer: “I understand the concerns. We absolutely understand.”
The officer leading Police Scotland’s work to help train law enforcement agencies around the world is under no illusion about the reputational risks attached.
Speaking at Police Scotland’s Tulliallan HQ, he admits the culture and working practices of some of those foreign forces have raised justifiable concerns.
However, he insists Scots officers’ engagement with them can only improve their work and make the world a safer place.
Last year alone, the force has been involved in Anguilla, Cayman Islands, India, Malawi, Namibia, Pakistan and Zambia.
Meanwhile, police from Norway, Finland, Lower Saxony and the US, attended courses in Scotland, as did the organisers of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Scots officers were sent to Jamaica and Sri Lanka to train their police, two projects that have been criticised due to concerns over these nations’ human rights records.
Mckillop, head of Police Scotland’s International Development and Innovation Unit, leads a team of five at Tulliallan and has overseen foreign projects for two years.
He explained police have been performing international work on a not-for-profit basis since 2006.
The force’s work later expanded after it was asked to help the Sri Lankan Government in 2009, when the nation’s 26- year civil war ended.
He said: “Sri Lanka remains one of the key places for the UK Government, so we continue to work for them through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund.
“We’ve done some work in Pakistan, looking at crime investigation in the Punjab. We’ve also worked for the Scottish Government in Malawi and Zambia.”
The Jamaican project is a new challenge for Police Scotland, with Mckillop and colleagues tasked with developing the National Police College of Jamaica.
The contract, funded by the European Union, is with the Jamaica’s Ministry of National Security.
But Amnesty International has raised concerns over the relationship, following what it described as a “deeply troubling wave of civilian killings by Jamaican police” last year.
Jamaican officers killed 168 people, prompting a campaign by Amnesty that generated 65,000 letters of protest.
Naomi Mcauliffe, Amnesty International’s Scotland Programme director, said the human rights organisation had “repeatedly sought assurances” from Police Scotland it would consider the human rights context in countries it engages with.
She also questioned whether working with forces accused of murder and torture is “making a positive contribution or providing a de facto shield for human rights abuses”.
Mckillop said he understands and acknowledges such concerns.
“Before we operate in any of these countries we have to undertake an overseas security and justice assessment,” he said.
The work in Jamaica is designed to improve the training of police officers across the country, Mckillop said, adding that Police Scotland “has human rights at its core”.
He went on: “We make it clear that any work we’ll be doing with the host country is going to be human rights compliant.
“They have to accept that before we will work with them. Jamaica is no different.”
Later this month a deputation from Jamaica will come to Scotland, an opportunity for Police Scotland to reinforce the message, Mckillop said.
He also defended his unit’s role in Sri Lanka, a relationship running for nearly 10 years, despite concerns over the use of torture by police.
Freedom from Torture (FFT) – a charity that treats torture survivors from Sri Lanka in Scotland – said it was concerned there was a “lack of focus on human rights issues, especially torture prevention”.
Ann Hannah, of FFT, said torture continues to be a problem.
She added: “Recent public threats by the Sri Lankan defence attaché in London suggest there is a culture of impunity that remains unchallenged.
“Without reforming the structures that have allowed torture to continue and signalling publicly that this is an essential pillar of engagement, this sends a message to
perpetrators that they can continue to act without consequence.”
When asked why torture remains a problem in Sri Lanka nearly a decade after Police Scotland began its work there, Mckillop said it was important to keep engaging with the country.
He said: “The British High Commission review our training on a regular basis, as well as our own monitoring. We are continuing to work with them and to press them.
“We absolutely understand the concerns, and have regular conversation with the British High Commission and Sri Lankan Police.
“It’s not ideal but we will continue to work and do what we can to improve that situation.”
Mckillop pointed to his unit’s work elsewhere, saying the force is striving to protect vulnerable children and women.
In Malawi, for example, they train police on child protection and gender based violence.
Officers have worked with Malawi’s Victim Support Unit ( VSU) to see how its approaches could be improved.
The aim is to improve how police in Malawi deal with victims of serious sexual crimes and look after their needs, and they’ve advised colleagues a multi-agency approach can help to ensure victims are supported through the whole process.
Mckillop added: “We brought three key members of Malawi Police Service to Scotland and showcased the Scottish approach to them.
“What we wanted them to do was to identify areas where they could actually take that practice and deliver it in Malawi.
“And, through that, we were able to sit down with them and develop a first- responders’ course, a training course for their officers, for their VSU, to give them the skills to gather evidence in a far more effective manner at first point of contact.”
As of last week, Police Scotland will have concluded its first- responder training in Malawi to 195 VSU officers across the country, and later this year the unit will return to evaluate the situation.
“We’ve already seen some positive signs and we will take that on and develop it further,” Mckillop said.