Revision of 2020-2021 Scrutiny Plan

03 December 2020

HMICS keeps the priorities for inspection under constant review. At a planning meeting on 12 November, we discussed the stage reached with ongoing inspections, as well as looking ahead to our plans for the remainder of the scrutiny year. Following those discussions, I have decided to defer the planned inspection of the roll out of the contact assessment model (the way in which Police Scotland deals with calls for service).

Due to the restrictions required as part of the collective effort to limit the spread of infection, all of the functions of the model cannot be implemented in full. For instance, the use of local policing appointments (the scheduling of police attendance) cannot operate as planned under the current circumstances. Similarly, it has not been possible to engage with the full range of partners to maximise the benefit of the model.

As with all of our inspections, I am very conscious of the impact of our scrutiny activity on police officers and staff, more so during this challenging time of COVID-19 throughout which they have continued to provide a vital service to the public.

The Training and Development Phase 2 inspection, which will focus on the recruitment, retention, development and promotion of under-represented groups, has been brought forward in the scrutiny plan, and scoping for that inspection is now underway.

A refreshed version of the 2020-2021 Scrutiny Plan will be published in due course.