Fletcher, get back to your modern safe place and gateway for delivery of wellbeing, diversion and transformation services*
*That’s a cell, as the police go woke
FOR generations, anyone arrested by the police might well have expected a night in the cells.
However, Police Scotland has ruled that modernisation is required.
Suspects can look forward to being locked up in ‘modern, safe places’ which are ‘gateways for the delivery of wellbeing, diversion and transformation services’.
The latest annual plan published by the force sets out radical changes to custody arrangements.
And one of the first things to change will be the traditional image of a police cell as a dingy bare room with a thin mattress.
Outlining the intention to ‘keep people safe’, the report suggests those arrested will not be held in ‘places of detention’ but in ‘modern, safe places and gateways for the delivery of wellbeing, diversion and transformation services’. The report says Police Scotland intends to develop ‘a national holistic service of safety and security’ just as the NHS provides a national service of healthcare.
Last night critics said the plans risked prioritising criminals over protecting the public.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘Police cells should be used to keep the public safe from potentially dangerous criminals – it’s not a hotel.
‘With limited budgets as it is, the public will rightly wonder where the priorities are when we know so many calls to the police take too long to be answered and low-level crime is not even investigated in many cases.’
Mr Greene added: ‘It is clear the SNP Government has imposed their soft-touch approach across Scotland’s justice system and the result is violent crime is set to rise to the highest level under Nicola Sturgeon’s government this year.
‘This latest attempt to focus on the “wellbeing” of offenders will leave many asking, “What about the wellbeing of victims?”
‘That is why the Scottish Conservatives will put victims of crime, not criminals, at the heart of Scotland’s justice system by introducing our Victims Bill.’
The 54-page Scottish Police Authority Annual Police Plan sets out the force’s priorities for the next year.
The report identifies four priorities: protecting vulnerable people, tackling crime in a digital age, working with communities, and support for operational policing.
Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said: ‘I see us as providing a national holistic service of safety and security just as the NHS provides a national service of healthcare.
‘We have a duty to lead change which improves the experiences and lives of all our communities, including our own officers and staff. Meaningful change will require persistent focus and leadership.’
He added: ‘An Independent Review Group with a wide range of voices will provide additional scrutiny and oversight to our intense focus on equality, diversity and inclusion imperatives.
‘I will continue to drive improvements in our fleet, buildings and technology, as well as developing better working practices and stronger collaboration with partners.’
‘Cells keep the public safe – it’s not a hotel’