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Police Officer Quarterly Strength Scotland (POQS) gives the number of full-time equivalent police officers employed by Police Scotland. Since the first edition of the quarterly series (Published December 2008), POQS has held the status of “Official Statistics”, emphasising that figures are:

• Produced independently by professional statisticians and published by a recognised producer of “Official Statistics” as set out in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
• Are prepared in compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics and are subject to scrutiny by the UK Statistics Authority.

The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) determine what to prioritise for assessment within the context of their developing vision and mission. OSR consult the Chief Statistician on their Regulatory Work Programme, which is published online:

https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/osr/our-regulatory-work-programme

Currently this includes a programme of work seeking to improve the ‘Use of Policing Statistics in Public Discourse’;

https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publication/use-of-policing-statistics-in-public-discourse/

The Chief Statistician considers the principles of the Code of Practice for Statistics in determining priorities and whether to formally request an assessment.

The statistics in the POQS release are based upon quarterly returns made by Police Scotland to the Scottish Government, and are a by-product of live administrative processes, generated directly from the HR systems. The published police officer figures are sourced from Police Scotland’s personnel records and as such the quality and reliability is good. Further information on POQS can be found in the Statistical Release Notes that accompany each publication. A link to the latest officer numbers publication is given below:

https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PublicationPoliceStrength/POQS2019Q2

This is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority. The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

Temporary release is an important part of the rehabilitation process which helps the Parole Board assess whether someone is ready to be released back into the community. It is one of a number of considerations taken into account in assessing the person’s risk to the public. A rigorous risk assessment process is undertaken by the Scottish Prison Service before any offender is granted any form of unescorted leave. This involves psychological assessment, social work reports and reports on their time in prison. Home leave is an important part of the reintegration process and allows an individual to be tested on how they adapt to living in the community. Furthermore, individuals who have joined the Victim Notification Scheme, and have expressed a desire to make representations in relation to licence conditions under section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with Police Scotland and a range of issues are discussed.

We are protecting Police Scotland’s revenue budget during this Parliament to deliver a £100 million boost by 2021 and total Scottish Government funding for the SPA in 2019-20 is increasing by £42.3 million meaning the annual policing budget is now over £1.2 billion. We also continue to press the UK Government for a refund of the £125 million paid by Police Scotland in VAT between 2013 and 2018 – money that could be used to support transformation.

The precise allocation of resources is a matter for the Chief Constable, but Police Scotland has specialised Offender Management Units within each of its 13 territorial divisions. Currently they have access to 49 dedicated vehicles which allow them to undertake their operational duties and manage offenders.

It is not solely the responsibility of a police unit to protect the public. In Scotland, MAPPA – our Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements – brings together the Police, Local Authorities and other agencies, in partnership as the Responsible Authorities, to assess and manage the risk posed for certain categories of offender.

Police Scotland has been subject of a joint HMICS and Care Inspectorate Thematic Review of MAPPA in Scotland, which was published in 2015 and a 2017 progress report by HMICS acknowledged the progress made against the 10 recommendations in the original report.

A person is on life licence until their death. It is not an automatic right to terminate the supervision element of the licence conditions. Supervising officers may submit requests to do so after a period of 10 years or more has elapsed. Termination of supervision will not occur without a full Risk Assessment being carried out. The Parole Board will make these decisions on a case by case basis. However two licence conditions will always remain -

• that they are of good behaviour and keep the peace; and
• they inform the local authority if they are arrested or questioned by the police.

The Parole Board can reinstate the full licence or recall the person back to prison if they do not adhere to the conditions.

The independent jury research commissioned by the Scottish Government is due to be published on Wednesday 9 October 2019.

The Scottish Government is planning to host a launch event for the research on that day, with attendees invited from the legal profession, third sector, justice organisations, the Justice Committee, defence agents, and other key stakeholders.

After publication the Scottish Government will engage widely to seek views on the findings and any implications for future criminal justice reforms.

The Equally Safe Multi-Agency Centre (ESMAC) in Edinburgh will bring together experts from child and adult protection, health, police and social work, to provide age-appropriate, wrap-around care for children, young people and adults who have been a victim of rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse or other forms of gender based violence. This ambitious project is backed by £2.6m of Scottish Government funding.

The ESMAC Steering Group is chaired by NHS Lothian, who are responsible for overseeing the project and keeping the timescales under review. A phased approach to the development of the service will likely see the service commence in Spring 2020.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

Over the period covered, in the absence of a formal process, no records were kept. However, SPS officials have in the past met informally with victims and/or their families.

More recently, SPS has been working closely with Victim Support Scotland (VSS) to put in place an agreed approach which facilitates dialogue and engagement with victims and families and which dovetails with the support services offered more generally by VSS.

In April 2019, that collaboration led to the launch of a new approach. Since that time 20 life sentence prisoners have become eligible for consideration for temporary release 9 of whom had victims registered with the Victim Notification Scheme, of these, 7 expressed an interest in making representations, with one electing to respond in writing and the other 2 by way of meetings.

As part of the development of our Restorative Justice Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/restorative-justice-action-plan/ , which was published in June 2019, we undertook a survey seeking evidence on the current use of restorative justice across Scotland. The survey found provision to be inconsistent, with limited opportunities for adults to take part.

This survey, alongside extensive engagement with stakeholders across the justice sector, directly informed our vision set out in the Action Plan to have restorative justice available across Scotland to all those who wish to access it, and at a time that is appropriate to the people and cases involved. The Plan also explains the steps we will take to achieve this vision.

The day to day delivery of policing, and operational decisions about the allocation of policing resources across Scotland, are a matter for the Chief Constable, under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). However, the Scottish Government is assured that Police Scotland and the SPA are committed to delivering a high level of service to Scotland's rural communities. Police Scotland and the SPA's ten year strategy, 'Serving a Changing Scotland' recognises the distinct needs of rural and remote communities. This is reflected in the current Annual Police Plan (2019-20) which commits Police Scotland to 'implement local policing approaches, aligned to demand, reflecting the differing needs of rural, remote, island and urban communities'.

Police Scotland has a dedicated Rural Crime team, and chairs the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime - a multi-agency group committed to tackling crime in Scotland's rural communities.

As required by the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, the SPA carries out an Annual Review to assess all aspects of Police Scotland's performance. The SPA Review of Policing for 2018-19 will be laid before Parliament in the coming months. As part of the Review process the SPA will seek feedback from all local authorities in Scotland.