HMICS publish thematic inspection of road policing

28 July 2014

The Road Policing function within Scotland’s new single police service is performing well with specialised officers providing improved capacity across the country, says HMICS in a report published today (Monday 28 July 2014).

However, against the backdrop of reducing figures for casualties, the number of fatalities on Scotland’s roads increased by 24 (14%) in 2013-2014.

The HMICS report ‘Thematic Inspection of Road Policing 2014’ is the first published inspection of road policing arrangements in Scotland. It examines the state, effectiveness and efficiency of new road policing arrangements in Scotland under the single service.

The findings highlight that national leadership over road policing is strong and many partner agencies believe the single service has led to more effective and efficient decision making.

HMICS also found there is more equal access to specialist policing resources throughout Scotland through the ability to flex national resources and meet the needs of local communities.

It has made five recommendations for improvement to Police Scotland around target setting and performance, linking activity to outcomes, re-distribution of resources, analytical support and real time information sharing. It has also made one recommendation for improvement to the Scottish Police Authority around defining the relationships with local scrutiny committees and better engagement over national decisions which impact on local policing.

HM Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, Derek Penman, said:

"Following our scrutiny, it is our assessment that the objectives of police reform in relation to road policing are being achieved and road policing services in Scotland are improving for the benefit of local communities across Scotland.

While there has been an increase in the number of fatalities on Scottish roads, overall road casualties continue to decrease and are below the Scottish Government milestone targets to 2015. There is evidence of more equal access to specialist policing support, and with this, enhanced national capacity.

However, more needs to be done by Police Scotland to understand the impact of performance management on operational officers and link activity to outcomes. We recognise that local policing is key to the success of policing in Scotland and that more needs to be done around clarifying the roles of local scrutiny bodies, with better engagement over national decisions which impact on local communities.

"Overall we conclude that the new road policing model is working effectively and it is strengthening the connections between police services and communities".