Chief Constable updates Scottish Police Authority

Chief Constable Jo Farrell underlined the profound impact violent crime has on individuals, families and communities with a clear message that people should not carry weapons, during a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority Board in Glasgow today, Thursday, 22 May.

The Chief outlined that stop and search by policing has recovered over 900 weapons in the last year, with over 200 weapons recovered from people aged 17 or younger.

Chief Constable Farrell said policing would continue to work with partners, including the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, Medics Against Violence, Fearless, local authorities, and others to prevent violence.

During the input, the Chief also provided an update on Police Scotland’s response to a number of targeted attacks in both the East and West of the country, including 37 arrests, under Operation Portaledge.

Read the Chief Constables’ update in full:

The tragic death of 16-year-old Kayden Moy at the weekend has had a profound impact on communities in East Kilbride and across Lanarkshire, in Ayrshire, and right across Scotland.

Officers are supporting Kayden’s family and our thoughts are with his loved ones.

We have made an arrest and continue to appeal for any information relating to Kayden’s death. We’ve established an online portal for members of the public to contact the investigation team.

Separately, officers arrested two teenagers after responding to reports at Portobello Beach, Edinburgh, on Friday, 16 May.

Investigations into those specific incidents will continue and it is essential that the criminal justice process is respected.

I would at this stage make some broader observations about violent crime, policing’s response and wider efforts to reduce violence and its profound and lasting effect on individuals, families and communities.

Violent crime is at historically low levels with homicides at record low levels and attempted murders and serious assaults are also at low levels compared to recent years.

However, I am concerned about the some of the trends around violent crime committed by young people, and often committed against other young people and we think a notable proportion of that is happening in and around schools.

It’s on policing and partners, local authorities, third sector, and beyond to work together to do all we can to prevent violence and reduce the harm it is causing.

Reducing violence and preventing the harm it is causing continues to be an absolute priority. Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland leads our national approach to addressing violence, antisocial behaviour and for stop and search, which is a really valuable policing tactic to remove weapons from pockets.

To provide a sense of stop and search, in the last year we had around 40,000 recorded stop and search incidents and about one in four has a positive return, with over 900 weapons recovered as part of that.

Of those 900 weapons, over 200 were recovered from people aged 17 or under.

We have a high compliance rate with our code of practice and we have an online dashboard around stop and search so there is accountability and transparency around the use of the tactic, and it is conducted by local officers who know their communities best.

At the same time, we must continually work with partners to understand and tackle the complex issues around youth violence.

We know policing can’t answer this alone, and we work closely in partnership with the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU), Medics Against Violence and Fearless, the dedicated youth service of the charity Crimestoppers, among others.

Policing is strongly integrated in our communities and I would just mention a couple of examples of prevention initiatives being delivered at a local level.

In Dumfries and Galloway, officers are delivering the "Do The Right Thing" programme. This is an intervention and prevention initiative aimed at secondary school pupils in the area, addressing critical issues such as hate crime, drugs and substance abuse, domestic abuse, sexual consent, sexual health and mental health, positive masculinity as well as smoking and vaping.

Supporting Opportunities for Life (SOL) is a partnership project between officers and charity Aid and Abet and the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit. Peer mentors will work with officers in West Lothian and engage with young people aged 10-25 in schools, colleges and in the community.

Through the use of early intervention inputs, SOL will help to build and support the young people break that cycle of offending, encourage them to make positive life choices and identify pathways out of offending.

We also support the No Knives, Better Lives programme and the SVRU’s Quit Fighting for Likes campaign, which supports young people to safely navigate social media and help to prevent violence. 

We’ll continue to work at a national and local level with partners and communities in this vital area and I would conclude with a very, very simple and clear plea to people – do not carry weapons. Doing so can have devastating and irreversible consequences for individuals, for families and for communities. Do not carry weapons.

At this stage I’d also provide an update on disorder, including the use of pyrotechnics, in Glasgow on Saturday, when thousands of Celtic fans gathered in the city’s Glasgow Cross and Trongate areas following the Scottish Premiership league title trophy presentation.

There were a number of arrests on the day and I would stress that we continue to follow enquiries in the days after situations like this. As of this week, a total of 20 people have been arrested.

In addition, 17 people have been charged and four have been reported in connection with offences including being in possession of pyrotechnics or offensive weapons, assault and public order.

I would support the First Minister’s comments that all of us want people to enjoy celebrating their club’s success safely and without causing significant disruption and suffering for wider communities.

I would highlight that we had 320 officers involved in our response, which is 320 officers who are not available to communities for other duties.

We will continue to work with clubs and other partners and, for me, the ideal scenario would be an agreed and organised event that ensures safety and security, minimises wider disruption and which could also create economic opportunities.

Of course, we have another high profile fixture this weekend, and nobody wants to see disorder or violence associated with it. As you would expect, we have an appropriate policing plan in place and will respond as required.

Turning to my report, I provide an overview of disruption and enforcement, including 37 arrests, in response to targeted attacks in the East and West of Scotland, under Operation Portaledge.

I utterly condemn the actions of those involved and thank our communities for their support and assistance in making Scotland a hostile environment for those involved in organised crime.

A team of detectives is working closely with local policing officers and operational support colleagues. I also want to recognise and thank Scottish Police Authority Forensics for their contribution to what is one of our largest ongoing investigations.

Our commitment to tackling organised crime is also underlined by Operation Intensity, which has resulted in 100 arrests as well as the seizure of illegal drugs and firearms.

We’ll continue to work with partners at international, national, regional and local levels to clear organised crime and build resilience in communities and I want to thank colleagues in local authorities and the Scottish Fire and Rescue and the National Crime Agency for their support. Of course, we work very closely with the partners, as underlined by their input today and I welcome Graeme from the NCA here today and place on record my thanks for their support and collaboration.

I highlight our approach to on-street prostitution, which focuses on targeted action to signpost women to support while deterring kerb crawling. Prostitution is a form of violence against women and girls and our approach seeks to build trust and confidence in policing, while making communities safer and supporting victims.

Road safety continues to be an important focus for Police Scotland as part of a broader partnership approach to reduce the devastation of fatal and serious collisions.

I’m hugely grateful to Iain Dominick who powerfully shared the story of his son Ross, who tragically lost his life, to support our plea to all road users to look twice and prevent further deaths.

Preventing harm and stopping crime before it happens is key to getting on top of demand and I outline partnership work with Trading Standards to prevent door-step crime.

Earlier this month, we also outlined our approach to strengthening our response to cyber enabled crime during an evidence session at the Scottish Parliament.

My report outlines just a few examples of how Police Scotland is delivering for communities. That can only be achieved by our professional, skilled and dedicated workforce.

Last Thursday, as part of our ongoing officer recruitment campaign, members of our Chief Officer Team welcomed new probationary constables to Police Scotland at events across the country.

I also outline the fantastic successes of our valued Special Constables who came together for their annual conference earlier this month.

This report sets out that we have received pay award claims from both officers and staff, while also describing some family friendly policies introduced as part of our efforts to improve total reward for our people.

Through our workforce survey, we know we must do more to connect with our people and I outline engagement sessions with officers and staff to continue to share our vision for policing and provide a clear message that everyone in Police Scotland has a role in delivering for our communities.

At the same time, I continue to advocate for policing and lead strategic engagement with key partners and civic society and I detail some of this work, including a session with the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, Sir Brian Leveson.

Such sessions are important opportunities to continue to be the good partner that Police Scotland is, while also being confident about our strength, our story and our success.

With the Authority, and the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, as described by the chair, we held a live facial recognition national conversation event in Edinburgh this month.

The event brought together academics, Police Scotland officers and staff led by Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson, and broader policing colleagues, and human rights advocates, to discuss possibilities, concerns and potential solutions.

This was an extremely positive event where we were able to describe potential uses of this technology and discuss the positive case for using new technology to keep people and communities safe, while demonstrating a clear commitment to listening to broader perspectives to maintain and support principles of policing by consent.

I’m really grateful to the Authority for their engagement, support and challenge in this space and is a good example of our memorandum of understanding working in practice.

On the theme of technology, I just want to quickly mention some promising feedback around the ongoing roll out of body worn video.

Roll out to Tayside is complete, with all officers and staff trained. We are hearing that the cameras are already helping to de-escalate incidents, provide an early resolution to police complaints and to record admissions made by an accused, that may have earlier been missed during an incident.

This clear evidence speeds up the evidential process means that officers are able to make a report and return to their core duties more efficiently. We expect body worn video to be introduced to our Highland and Islands communities in mid-June.

You’ll know I’ve been clear on the need for improvements and efficiencies across the criminal justice system and, I do believe we are beginning to see some green shoots of progress.

Just last week, the Crown Office shared data that showed police witness citations and recitations in summary cases was showing a significant reduction – from an average monthly total of over 18,500 to fewer than 11,500 in April this year.

That’s likely to be a result of the Summary Case Management approach and a really positive step in the right direction.

Lastly, I report that Audit Scotland and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland have published the scope of their joint best value audit of policing in Scotland, including Police Scotland.

Policing in Scotland, including Police Scotland, the Authority, and SPA Forensics, has a strong evidence of delivering best value and I welcome the audit as an opportunity to support our commitment to continuous improvement.