Police Scotland’s new Hate Crime Bill concerns

POLICE Scotland revealed concerns the new Hate Crime Bill will create additional pressures and cited plans to tackle abuse within the force.

An agenda from a Scottish Police Authority (SPA) meeting due to take place tomorrow showed that a request for a £5 million windfall from the Scottish Government to boost the budget was no longer expected to be “fully required”.

The national force, established in 2013, has said it is “committed to encouraging female applicants” but faced a “drop” in the number of female recruits, and now plans to examine a potential link between flexible working and career progression, according to the minutes.

A meeting of the committee of the SPA “discussed the findings in relation to probationer training and the disconnect between senior and middle management on management style and behaviour”, it was noted.

This month 200 new recruits began training and the headcount will be the lowest ever, with 16,600 officers, while some 756 bids for voluntary redundancy or early retirement were lodged.

Chief Constable Jo Farrell revealed her aspiration for Police Scotland to be the “most digitally enabled police force in Europe”, and in her Annual Police Plan said a “robust approach” would be drawn up for allegations of abusive officers.

Ms Farrell warned an “ageing population; a cost of-living crisis driving vulnerability and pressure on other services; civil unrest; new laws and complex investigations all contribute to growing community need and more contact with police”.