Former Senior Police Officer and current MSP and Labour Justice spokesperson, Graeme Pearson, has launched his own comprehensive review of Police Scotland . As part of the review, Graeme will be holding a public meeting in Dumfries on the 17th September 2015.
Mr Pearson has been tasked to assess the effectiveness of the single police force and propose bold reforms to restore local accountability and reverse the impact of damaging Scottish Government cuts to staff and services.
A former Head of Crime and Counter Terrorism at Strathclyde Police, before his appointment as Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, Graeme Person is travelling the country speaking to rank and file officers, civilian staff, community groups, victim support staff and others as part of a wide-ranging review of policing in Scotland.
The review will look at:
– Local accountability
– The relationship between Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority and Scottish Government ministers
– Staffing
– Targets
Since the creation of the single force in 2013, Police Scotland has faced a series of scandals and controversies – including the M9 car crash, cuts to civilian staff and services, local control room closures, a lack of transparency over stop and search and armed officers.
South of Scotland MSP and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Graeme Pearson said:
“Scotland’s police officers are doing their best under very difficult circumstances. Instead of doing the job they trained for, too many are having to fill back office functions because of the Scottish Governments cuts to civilian staff. The failure over the M9 crash was the straw that broke the camel’s back and exposed the many problems at the heart of Police Scotland today. There is no doubt that something has gone badly wrong with the implementation of the single police force, and policing in Scotland needs a shake-up. We need to get back to the kind of community policing that made Scotland the envy of the world at one time. In the coming months I will travel the country speaking to those on the front line. Communities across Scotland, and the police officers themselves, deserve better.”
Dumfriesshire MSP and Shadow Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Elaine Murray added:
“Our community has seen first-hand the damaging effects that the implementation of the single police force has had. I welcome the fact that Graeme is undertaking this review, and would encourage any of my constituents who wish to share their views on policing in Scotland to come along to the public meeting on the 17th September.”
Graeme Pearson will be at the Nith Room at Georgetown Community Centre, Georgetown Road, Dumfries, at 7pm on the 17th September and everyone with an interest in this important issue is more than welcome to attend.
For those wishing to share their views and comment with regard to this review, but unable to attend personally, they can do so via the following methods:
By mail: Graeme Pearson MSP, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, EH99 1SP
By email: [email protected]
By phone: 0131 348 6887
By fax: 0131 348 5978
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