Police relax rules to pull in recruits
Standards on tattoos, fitness and driving revised
POLICE Scotland is overhauling its policy on fitness, tattoos and driving skills as it struggles to meet the SNP’s target for 1,000 extra officers.
The force has also made its application form easier amid fears applicants were struggling to complete it, with only one in ten forms returned.
In a move likely aimed at recruiting more officers, Police Scotland will now allow people to join with visible tattoos on their necks and hands.
For the first time in 20 years, police officers no longer need to be able to drive, and fitness levels could even be relaxed following a review to remove ‘barriers’ to recruitment.
It comes as the force battles to maintain the golden figure of 17,234 officers – the SNP target of 1,000 more than it inherited on coming to power. A senior official has admitted it needs to keep up the number of people applying to join the force, but insists the changes will not reduce the quality of recruits.
Peter Blair, head of resource management, will tell the Scottish Police Authority today that there are ‘no indications that the Scottish Government’s pledge that Police Scotland maintain a figure of 17,234 police officers will be removed’.
Speaking ahead of today’s meeting Mr Blair said: ‘The number of applications has been the singular most significant issue for recruitment.
‘A number of potential barriers to application were identified. These included the requirement for driving licences, fitness testing, the standard entrance test and the tattoo policy. To date, many of these elements of the process have been reconsidered and revised. Work continues in this area to address the remaining elements.’
Traditionally, the selection process for prospective police officers has been intentionally challenging to pick out the most motivated candidates.
However there were fears that the previous application form may have been a ‘bar’ to appli- cants, with nine out of ten forms issued never completed.
Mr Blair said a revised form was introduced in October which is ‘easier for the candidate to understand and complete’.
Police Scotland is also tackling other potential barriers, including its strict tattoo rules. Mr Blair said: ‘Our new policy is that a small tattoo on the hands or the collar line, but not on the face, will not stop you becoming a police officer.’
The decision that officers no longer need to drive has been attacked by the Scottish Police Federation. General Secretary Calum Steele said: ‘If anyone believes recruiting standards are a hindrance for the police service, I fear for its future.
‘It is short-sighted to believe abandoning the need for a driving licence won’t create massive problems in the future.’
Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Alison McInnes said: ‘People will be concerned that the response to recruitment pressures is to lower the entry criteria, instead of working to encourage more candidates who meet the existing standards to join the force.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The recruitment policies being reviewed are a matter for Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority.’
‘Massive problems
in the future’