Police Scotland (Institutional Discrimination)

– in the Scottish Parliament at on 25 May 2023.

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Photo of Douglas Ross Douglas Ross Conservative

1. I remind members that my wife is a serving Police Scotland officer.

Let me be clear: the vast majority of Scotland’s front-line police officers do a fantastic job under incredible pressure. However, a new report to the Scottish Police Authority raises a number of serious concerns about systemic issues throughout Police Scotland. The independent review found “first hand” instances of “racism, sexism and homophobia”.

In response, the chief constable of Police Scotland, Sir Iain Livingstone, said this today:

“It is right for me as chief constable to clearly state that institutional racism, sexism, misogyny and discrimination exist.”

He continued:

“Police Scotland is institutionally discriminatory and racist.”

What is the First Minister’s response to the chief constable’s statement?

Photo of Humza Yousaf Humza Yousaf Scottish National Party

I thank Douglas Ross for raising the issue. First and foremost, I commend Sir Iain Livingstone, the chief constable of Police Scotland, for acknowledging institutional racism, misogyny and other discriminatory behaviours within Police Scotland. That is the first step that is required in order to dismantle the institutional and structural barriers that exist.

Douglas Ross is right to emphasise that this is not a criticism of individual police officers, who we know put themselves in harm’s way to protect us day in and day out, but there is no doubt that institutional racism exists in our society. I take the opportunity to say, as a person of colour, that the chief constable’s statement is monumental and historic. I remember raising the issue of racism in Strathclyde Police, as the force then was. I was stopped and searched more than a dozen times when I was a boy, when I was in my car, walking with my friends in the street or at airports.

The chief constable’s acknowledgement is very welcome indeed. I hope that it also serves as a reminder to all of us that, whatever organisation we belong to, we have a responsibility to question the organisations that we lead—and that is certainly the case for me in the organisation I lead—and to reflect on whether we are doing enough to dismantle not only institutional racism but the structural discrimination that exists for many people because of disability or sexual orientation or because they are women.

I welcome the chief constable’s statement. As he himself has said, now that the acknowledgement has been made, it is so important that we see action to dismantle those barriers. I say once again that I take my responsibility as First Minister seriously and that I rededicate myself to doing everything that I can to dismantle the barriers of institutional racism, misogyny, bigotry and discrimination where they exist here in the Scottish Government and to doing all that I can do right across society in that regard.

Photo of Douglas Ross Douglas Ross Conservative

The chief constable also said this today:

“When an organisation doesn’t have all the necessary policies, processes, practices and systems in place to ensure that doesn’t happen, it’s an institutional matter.”

The SPA report also found

“significant concerns about the absence of effective performance management systems during the first decade of Police Scotland’s existence”

So, the problem is wider and is systemic. It starts far from the front line, with management and leadership. Does the First Minister agree? Given that he has just rededicated himself to tackling the issue, what urgent action will his Government take in response to the SPA report and the chief constable’s statement?

The First Minister:

Those in management and leadership positions absolutely have to bear responsibility. In particular, in organisations that we lead, it is our responsibility to examine the evidence, collate the data and come to a conclusion about the structural barriers that exist. That is true for me as the First Minister and I am certain that Douglas Ross will reflect on the organisation of the political party that he leads. That is an important point for those who are in management or leadership.

For all the disagreements that I have had with Anas Sarwar, one phrase that he uses captures the issue very well: this is a “fight for us all”. That is absolutely right. Although management and leadership absolutely have a role to play, we all have a role to play in our organisations in confronting those barriers and reflecting on what more we can do to undermine them.

I am committed to working with Police Scotland. However, above and beyond that, I want to make sure that, for all organisations—in particular, those in the public sector—we collect the data, we have a view on the structural barriers that exist, and then we work with senior management and leadership, right across the public sector in particular, although I also challenge the private sector in this regard, to dismantle the barriers that we know have existed and still exist right across our society.

Photo of Douglas Ross Douglas Ross Conservative

The SPA review also found

“outright fear” among officers about bringing forward complaints. At paragraph 5.8, the report notes:

“We heard of people being ‘punished’ for raising issues or concerns”.

It is so clearly unacceptable that police officers who raised concerns internally were “punished”. We must surely all agree that officers should be able to raise legitimate concerns without suffering any consequences.

My party has raised officers’ concerns about the broken police complaints system for some time. It is clearly not fit for purpose. Given the severity of the report to the Scottish Police Authority, and the chief constable’s statement, will the First Minister vow to change the current complaints system and the process within the force that in the past has let down and continues to let down front-line officers who raise legitimate concerns?

The First Minister:

That is a very fair point from Douglas Ross. We are already taking forward work from Dame Elish Angiolini’s review and various reports from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland in that regard. If there is more work that we can do, I absolutely commit to responding to the challenge that Douglas Ross and others have raised of looking at the complaints process.

Process is one thing, and it is important that we look at having the correct process. However, culture is equally if not sometimes even more important. That is why the chief constable’s statement was so monumental. It demonstrates from the very top of the organisation that that culture is simply not acceptable. It is important that that permeates down through the ranks.

I go back to the point that Douglas Ross has made. Of course, I will absolutely seek to do what more can be done about the process that is in place . As I have said, we are taking forward the recommendations of Dame Elish Angiolini’s review and various HMICS reports in that regard, but I welcome the statement from the chief constable. It is about more than just process, although process is important. Culture is vital, too.

Photo of Douglas Ross Douglas Ross Conservative

Dame Elish Angiolini’s report was published in 2020. Three years on, officers are still commenting about a system that is broken. My party has been raising that in the chamber for some time. The further report to the SPA and the chief constable’s statement today make that a crucial issue that must be dealt with with the utmost urgency.

The SPA report also found that front-line pressures have left officers without the time to take part in vital training exercises. It found that officers did not feel that they had time to deal with legitimate complaints and grievances, because they were so stretched with their responsibility to maintain public order. It found:

“The greatest challenge we heard, and observed, to driving cultural change within the service was the pressures on frontline resourcing.”

Unison has said that there is a £74 million shortfall in the policing budget. Absolutely none of that excuses discrimination, but it is a serious problem that limits Police Scotland’s ability to change its culture and leaves thousands of first-class officers without the resources that they need to do their job. Does the First Minister accept that Scotland’s police officers are being asked to do too much with too little?

The First Minister:

I do not agree with that characterisation. I re-emphasise a point that Douglas Ross just made. Of course, funding—and he is absolutely within his rights to question us in relation to our funding—can never be an excuse for institutional racism, institutional misogyny or institutional discrimination wherever it exists. That is a point that, in fairness, Douglas Ross himself has made, but I just want to re-emphasise it.

In terms of the funding that we provide for Police Scotland, despite UK Government austerity over the years, we have increased police funding year on year since 2016. We have invested more than £11.6 billion in policing since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013.

Of course, police officer numbers are operational matters for the chief constable, but the latest comparable data that we have shows that there are 30 police officers per 10,000 in Scotland. That compares favourably with 24 officers per 10,000 in other parts of the UK, in England and in Wales.

As for what more we can do to reduce the burden on police officers, which again is a very fair and legitimate point for Douglas Ross to raise, we are doing a fair bit of work in relation to the mental health call-outs that police officers often have to attend and which we know take up a significant amount of their time. I am happy to write to Douglas Ross with the detail of that work that we are progressing.

As for the crux of the questions that Douglas Ross is asking, we have been working alongside policing partners to deliver Dame Elish Angiolini’s recommendations. To date, 58 of those recommendations have been delivered and, given the urgency of the issue, the Government will introduce later this year the police complaints and misconduct handling bill to deliver on the recommendations.

I go back to the central point, which I think that everybody will agree with. It is so important for institutional racism and other discriminatory behaviours to be recognised. What, then, is really important is to work together to ensure that we dismantle those barriers, and I am certainly committed to doing so. I have no doubt that the chief constable is committed to that, too, and I am certain that whoever succeeds him in his role will also look to do so.