Recommendations to boost policing made as audit finds public confidence falling

Recommendations have been made for policing in Scotland as an audit found confidence in local policing has declined, and modernisation of the force has been slow.

The Auditor General for Scotland and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) published a joint best value report on policing in Scotland on Thursday.

It found policing is well managed and led, but more needs to be done to reform the service and make the best use of its resources.

It said policing in Scotland benefits from senior leaders that work well together and strong financial management.

However, it identified areas where more needs to be done and made recommendations.

The audit said the service has been slow to put in place effective changes to modernise how it operates.

Craig Naylor, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, said: “Policing must constantly adapt to new forms of crime, evolving societal demands and expectations. The nature of threat, harm and risk has been changing and becoming more complex, moving from communities into homes and online.

“Much has been achieved since the reform of policing services in 2013. That’s included more equal access to specialist resources, better use of technology, and an increased focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion.”

Workforce planning remains underdeveloped, the report said, as the audit found there is no evidence 16,500 police officers and around 5,900 police staff are the right numbers to deliver an effective service for the future.

The report shows that while public trust in the police remains high, confidence in local policing has declined.

Statistics in the audit show 45% of the public thought police in their local area were doing an “excellent” or “good” job in 2023-24, compared with 61% in 2012-13.

Mr Naylor continued: “Policing knows it needs to increase scrutiny and delivery of its transformation programmes, as some modernisation plans haven’t been well managed in the past.

“At a time when the Scottish Government has set a new reform strategy for public services, there is now a real opportunity to effectively deliver the next stage of policing reform and ensure the service continues to improve.”

Auditors also found that current performance reporting cannot show if policing in Scotland is achieving its strategic goals.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said policing needs to “put clear measures of success” in place to show if goals are being achieved.

He said: “Policing in Scotland has a clear vision and senior leaders who work well together. But there’s more to do, especially around workforce planning and managing absence and officers on modified duties.

“Crucially, to deliver its vision and the next stage of reform, policing needs to put clear measures of success in place to ensure it can report on whether its goals are being achieved.”

Deputy chief constable Alan Speirs said: “I welcome this report, which reflects Police Scotland’s successful reform, clear vision, and effective teamwork to provide a valuable public service and good partnership working.

“As part of our detailed self-assessment work, we recognise the challenges highlighted by the audit, including building a consensus about the workforce policing needs to deliver for the communities of Scotland.

“We’ve fully assisted the audit, and we’ll continue to work to address areas for improvement as we further enhance our culture of providing best value for the public.”

Justice secretary Angela Constance said: “I am very grateful to Audit Scotland and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland for the depth and scale of their work on this report.

“Overall, this is a positive reflection of policing in Scotland with a number of strengths highlighted, including around effective leadership and governance and Police Scotland’s work with partners.

“Public service reform is a priority for the Government, and we will support Police Scotland to progress its ongoing work in this area. We are investing record funding of more than £1.7 billion for policing in 2026-27, to support service improvement and enable Police Scotland to invest in essential infrastructure, technology and to continue delivery of their estates masterplan.”