Police Reform in Scotland

On the 7th September 2011, the First Minister announced that the current eight police forces in Scotland would be replaced by a single Scottish Police force.

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The Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill outlined the benefits of reform and put forward proposals to Parliament as to how the new service will carry out their duties free from political interference, and protect and improve local services across Scotland.

The announcement marks the next stage in police reform and the transition to the new single structure will be led by Chief Constable Kevin Smith, President of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.


Chief Constable Kevin Smith said:

‘Moving to a single police force for Scotland is the most significant change to the service in its history. As the leaders of the service, it is our responsibility and indeed our duty, along with Scottish Government, to make this work for the people of Scotland and the men and women of the Scottish Police Service.

‘We are at the beginning of the next stage in the reform process. As President of ACPOS, I will lead the transition to a single service with the support of fellow Chief Constables, the Scottish Government and Police Authorities.

‘Our priority, as it has always been, is to deliver the best quality policing for the people of Scotland, recognising the record levels of performance highlighted today by the Cabinet Secretary.

‘Policing has adapted and improved over the last generation, we haven’t simply stood still. Reform will provide us with the opportunity to continue that improvement and ensure we have a modern, highly adaptive service which will continue to deliver an excellent service now and into the future because this reform must last for generations.

‘Policing will remain locally focussed with strong community relationships and partnerships with local authorities but we have the opportunity to further enhance our capacity for modern threats, such as serious organised crime, counter terrorism, complex investigations and cyber crime

‘We will be ambitious in our move towards a new service but we will also be realistic, recognising the scale and complexity of this huge task and also the period of significant financial constraint that we are in. We will consider and analyse the business case and consultation published today to ensure that the costs of change are realistic and also the savings anticipated are achievable.

‘I am absolutely convinced that reform will not fundamentally change the policing that the vast majority of the public see day-to-day but it will change how we are organised which means a time of uncertainty for all our people who actually deliver policing. We fully appreciate that they will want to know how this announcement will affect them but the exact detail of how the service will be structured is still to be decided. I am however committed to ensuring that all of our people have an opportunity to engage and contribute to help shape the service of the future. The Scottish Police Federation, Association of Police Superintendents and Unions will also be fully involved to ensure the views of our people are entirely represented.

‘ This is the most significant change to the Scottish Policing Service in its history but rest assured, we have the interests of our communities and our people at heart and we will succeed in this.’

• News release and statement on a single police and single fire and rescue service by the Cabinet Secretary »
• Consultation (Closes on November 2) »
• The Outline Business Case »
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