HMICS Annual report 2024-25

HMICS activity is aligned to those values detailed within the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework, namely: we are a society that treats all our people with kindness, dignity and compassion, respects the rule of law and acts in an open and transparent way.

Our activity seeks to support the achievement of the national outcomes. In particular:

• We live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe
• We live in communities that are creative and their vibrant and diverse cultures are expressed and enjoyed widely
• We grow up loved, safe and respected so that we realise our full potential
• We respect, protect and fulfil human rights and live free from discrimination.

The purpose of our work is to add value and support continuous improvement in the delivery of policing in Scotland. Where relevant, we will make recommendations to Police Scotland and the SPA that aim to improve policing. Through engagement, these recommendations are regularly reviewed and will benchmark change.

Throughout the course of 2024-25, HMICS carried out a number of inspections, both individually and with other inspection bodies, and made a total of 52 recommendations to Police Scotland and the SPA.

The status of our recommendations from April 2024 to March 2025 is set out below:

Our 2024 annual report showed that a number of recommendations were outstanding, following reports published in 2018. We are now able to report that all but three of these have progressed to closure, with just one remaining for Police Scotland and two for Scottish Government.

The launch of our new website allows stakeholders and members of the public to view the progress of recommendations. While it doesn’t set out details of the work being undertaken, it does show review dates, proposals for closure, and which ones have been closed, thus providing an overview of the status of all recommendations. Recommendations for individual inspections (and their status) can be viewed in the section of the website containing the inspection report.

In our 2021-22 improvement programme, we identified the HMICS website as an area for improvement. We wanted not simply to update the available information, but to present a more transparent view of the work we do, with greater interactivity for visitors.

During 2023-24, we were advised that Scottish Government would stop providing the website facilities; the subsequent procurement exercise has resulted in the creation, update and publication of our new website. This is regularly checked to ensure that it meets accessibility standards and provides useful public-facing information.