Transparency has key role to play

Police Scotland has not had its troubles to seek since its establishment on April 1, 2013.

Now the question is being asked: Has it been making fools of us ever since?

The determination to centralise the force led to countless concerns being raised.

While not all of them have come to pass, the loss of local knowledge resulting from the closure of some control rooms and smaller stations has been a genuine cause for consternation.

There were also suggestions that an important layer of local accountability could be lost.

Yesterday, stark evidence of that particular issue was laid bare as allegations of secrecy were levelled at the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).

Furious politicians warned of decisions being “taken in private and nodded through in public”.

Defending the SPA against such claims, the watchdog’s chairman, Andrew Flanagan, insisted there was a “high and significant degree of openness” and insisted he had not considered his position. The reality is that actions speak louder than words. Mr Flanagan may be confident in his claims, but the public perception is rather different.

If trust in the authority is to be maintained, a fully transparent decision-making process would be a good starting point.