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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 19 March 2025
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Displaying 1088 contributions

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Criminal Justice Committee

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 15 May 2024

Sharon Dowey

On sections 4 to 8 of the bill, which cover aspects of police conduct, the bill allows for the functions that will be conferred on the PIRC to be amended. That is an enabling power only, and details of the functions are not provided in the bill. The bill provides a power to allow gross misconduct procedures to be applied to former police officers and to amend the misconduct procedures for senior police officers—again, further details would be provided in secondary legislation. Does it concern you that more details are not provided in the bill? Do you have any concerns about that?

Criminal Justice Committee

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 15 May 2024

Sharon Dowey

Will there be a substantial increase in the resources that are required from you, or will the finances just move from one body to another?

Criminal Justice Committee

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 8 May 2024

Sharon Dowey

Good. Convener, can I—

Criminal Justice Committee

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 8 May 2024

Sharon Dowey

David Kennedy mentioned the case of Rhona Malone. We heard from a witness who was put on restricted duties and told that he was a danger to the public but was not informed why. He went all the way through a criminal case and was acquitted, by which point he had already taken early retirement.

Why do you do the criminal case first and not do a misconduct or an internal disciplinary investigation? It probably goes back to your procedures but, if that had been done at the time for him, it would have been found that there was no evidence, it would have been dealt with internally and court time would have been saved.

Criminal Justice Committee

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 8 May 2024

Sharon Dowey

The evidence so far has been very good, and a lot of my questions have been answered already.

Kate Wallace, on the proposed period of 12 months, you said that some victims do not become aware of things until further down the line. We have heard that, with cases being backdated in England and Wales, the time that it takes to investigate former officers has an impact on the investigation of current officers. You said to Russell Findlay that you would send details of previous cases. Perhaps you could also send us details of the impact on victims further down the line, because it would be good to get more evidence on why we need to investigate former officers, especially if that would go beyond the 12 months. I appreciate what you said about including on-going investigations. Current police officers go through a criminal procedure before there is an internal investigation, and I would expect that to continue. Could you send us more information on that?

In addition, what would justice for victims look like in relation to investigating former officers?

10:45  

Criminal Justice Committee

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 8 May 2024

Sharon Dowey

Dr Lennon, you think that the code of ethics should be put into disciplinary procedures.

Criminal Justice Committee

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 8 May 2024

Sharon Dowey

Thank you.

Criminal Justice Committee

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 8 May 2024

Sharon Dowey

You talked about trust, openness and transparency. Why would somebody not be told straight away why they have been put on restricted duties?

Criminal Justice Committee

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 8 May 2024

Sharon Dowey

There should be communication and explanation, and the process should be trauma informed and result in a timely conclusion. Does the bill cover all that?

Criminal Justice Committee

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 8 May 2024

Sharon Dowey

Will the introduction of body-worn cameras take away a lot of the complaints, because you will have the video evidence?