HMICS Annual report 2024-25

In the past year we concluded our first three-year scrutiny plan and consulted on a new plan outlining what we will do over the next three years. This was launched in March 2025, alongside a new three-year corporate plan and two inspection frameworks detailing how we will carry out our business. In setting out these areas of interest, we aim to provide Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and SPA Forensic Services (Forensic Services) with a clear understanding of which areas we will scrutinise in the coming years. This advance notice is designed to give those being inspected an opportunity to consider their own capacity and capability.

During this period, we have increased our reliance on the self-assessments conducted by Police Scotland, the SPA and Forensics Services. The standard of these continues to improve and I am grateful for the work done both to improve their quality and to incorporate any learning from these into day-to-day delivery. We will continue to work collaboratively to ensure that what we ask for from those under scrutiny is proportionate to the expected outcomes.

In the past year, we have published a review of the SPA and reports on road policing, missing persons, and well-being. Our website also now includes a section where progress on recommendations is shown. This offers improved transparency, highlighting what work is needed to ensure that recommendations are met and improvements made.

In 2024-25, we carried out joint inspections on adult support and protection, children at risk of harm, and healthcare in custody. Our strong relationships (and a well-established willingness to collaborate with scrutiny partners such as the Care Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland) provide opportunities to work across whole systems in some areas.

We have also begun work with HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland to look at the citations system in Scotland - from the point of witnesses being identified and interviewed by police officers, to the experience of all witnesses and victims - civilian, professional and police - being cited to attend court and provide evidence.

Such a collaborative approach allows a significant part of the system to be examined, although there is still a gap concerning the scheduling of cases, including the role in this of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. I have previously highlighted the lack of an independent scrutiny body for this service. This limits how much scrutiny can be provided on this aspect of court attendance and the very real costs that arise from attending court (and not providing evidence) both to the public purse and Police Scotland’s resource availability, as well as the financial and wellbeing impacts upon witnesses. Work begun by Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has had a positive impact on the number of citations being sent to Police Scotland for delivery, and the summary justice programme work has also brought down the numbers of officers and witnesses being cited (and re-cited for cases that are adjourned). The efficiency improvements will have a marked impact on witnesses and their experience of the criminal justice system, reducing the impact that adjournments and delays have upon victims and witnesses, enabling a more trauma-informed approach to the citations process.

This year has seen the passage of the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025 through parliament, with significant efforts made to establish a Bill that meets the remaining recommendations made in the Lady Elish Angiolini reports. The Bill team within Scottish Government has been adaptive and proactive; it included vetting aspects mentioned in previous HMICS reports, and built sections of the Act to address our recommendations that the Chief Constable be given the power to dismiss officers unable to sustain basic vetting standards. Work is continuing within Scottish Government to develop vetting and new Police Conduct regulations. HMICS continues to support this work while undertaking an assurance review of how Police Scotland and the SPA address incidents where officer or staff behaviour falls below acceptable standards.

The documents laid before parliament to guide progress of this Bill have articulated clearly why this legislation is important and why it should progress. However, the financial memorandum showing the estimated cost to affected parties from the new legislation has been less detailed, and those scrutinising the legislation in committee and in the main debating chamber have challenged the government on this.

I agree that too little consideration has been given to the wider impact of the legislation and how this could affect a number of organisations including Police Scotland, the SPA, the Police Investigations and Review Commission (PIRC) and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. As part of our scrutiny plan, we will inspect how Police Scotland (and others) engage in the proactive work required to assess the likely cost and other demands that new legislation will bring, such as training and new equipment, alongside partnership working and the benefits to be gained from the proposals.

We work closely with Audit Scotland and other scrutiny bodies across Scotland and have been looking into how we might bring more of a place-based focus to our collaborations. This is at an early stage, but I am committed to the Crerar principle of an effective scrutiny regime that leverages maximum improvement and reform, while minimising the resourcing required from those under scrutiny.

A full best value inspection of policing is ongoing, to be published within this financial year. I am mindful of comments made by the Auditor General about the wider reform of the public sector in Scotland in recent years, together with the Public Sector Reform Strategy published by the Scottish Government and expect this report to inform ongoing discussions about how we can collectively improve the delivery of public services.

It is clear that Police Scotland and Forensics Services face ever-increasing demands to investigate crime, manage major events and provide assurance to communities that any issues raised are addressed appropriately.

The early months of 2025 have seen a return of significant violence and disorder associated with serious organised crime groups. These events are often contained within a limited geographical area but on this occasion have stretched across the east and west regions of the country. Whilst Police Scotland’s operational activity has resulted in a significant number of arrests; these attacks remind us of the transnational nature and risk posed by organised crime groups and the need for police and law enforcement agencies to work globally to target those involved in directing such activities. The reform of policing in Scotland has undoubtedly strengthened its ability to effectively tackle the threat from organised crime groups compared with legacy arrangements. However, the increasingly complex nature of such criminality also reinforces the need to ensure policing continues to have the resources required to protect communities across Scotland from those who seek to cause the greatest harm.

Nevertheless, the growing threat from organised crime groups (who seem not to care for the safety of the wider community) remains a significant concern. Whether it is the supply of drugs, organised immigration crime or efforts to legitimise their unlawful business, the primary aims of those involved in these crimes is to gain money and influence over others.

The use of the Proceeds of Crime legislation is well established in Scotland, with £10,399,749 recovered in 2023-24. The CashBack for Communities programme, funded from Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) seizures, has also had significant impact across communities, with its strong focus on prevention work, especially among young people on the fringes of criminality.

In England, Northern Ireland and Wales, POCA reporting agencies can and do receive money from the proceeds recovered from crime under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS) (Asset recovery statistical bulletin: financial years ending 2019 to 2024). This shows that, in 2023-24, £243.3m was recovered from confiscation, forfeiture and civil recovery orders. From this, £98.1m ARIS funding was distributed to POCA agencies in the financial year ending March 2024. The Home Office encourages agencies to invest ARIS funds into areas that will increase asset recovery or, where appropriate, to fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community. (User guide to Asset recovery statistics).

This process is not applicable in Scotland. At a time of increasing demand, I would be encouraged to see conversations to consider if some funding could be released from seized assets to bolster the fight against organised crime and maintain Scotland’s position as a top performer in this area.

Overall, recorded crime levels in the past year (2024-25) decreased slightly (less than 1 per cent) from 299,790 to 299,111. The recording of crime remains below what it was immediately before the pandemic (2019-20), and down 51 per cent from its peak in 1991. There was little change in non-sexual crimes of violence, decreasing by less than 1 per cent, from 71,473 to 71,170. Common assault (also down less than 1 per cent) makes up the clear majority of all non-sexual crimes of violence recorded in 2024-25 (83 percent).

Sexual crimes increased by 3 per cent, from 14,484 to 14,892. These crimes are now at the second highest level seen since 1971, the first year for which comparable groups are available.

In 2024-25, an estimated 14,120 cyber-crimes were recorded by the police in Scotland. This was a decrease of 2,770 crimes (or 16 per cent) when compared to the estimated volume for 2023-24 (16,890). Levels remain significantly above the pre-pandemic year of 2019-20 (7,710 cyber-crimes).

Scottish Government estimates that cyber-crimes accounted for at least 5 per cent of total recorded crime in 2024-25, including 27 per cent of sexual crimes, 7 per cent of crimes of dishonesty and 3 per cent of non-sexual crimes of violence.

In 2024-25, the clear-up rate was 56.0 per cent, up from 54.1 per cent in 2023-24. For this year, crimes against society (93.8 per cent), non-sexual crimes of violence (68.4 per cent) and sexual crime (56.9 per cent) continued to have higher clear-up rates than crimes of dishonesty (35.1 per cent) and damage and reckless behaviour (31.0 per cent).

The recently-published statistics on recorded offences on the roads indicate that there has been a substantial drop over the past 10 years (see graph below). However, our November 2024 inspection of road policing highlighted the issue of reducing policing of the road network at a time when deaths on the road are increasing, and our concerns remain.

Enforcement, engineering and education are key to improving road safety outcomes on the roads. We are keen to see the delivery of an action plan from Police Scotland to tackle the recommendations in our report and improve enforcement. This should include a road safety training programme for those who have been caught through enforcement action but who would benefit from training, and we hope that this type of programme can be developed and delivered in Scotland soon.

In January of 2025 Martyn Evans concluded his time as chair of the Scottish Police Authority. His effective governance of the authority has been commented on in the inspection of the SPA in 2024. One of the concerns mentioned in the report was the transition between the outgoing chair and his successor. We are pleased that the process has been run effectively and the new chair, Fiona McQueen CBE, has settled in to the role very quickly and effectively. This continuity of senior leadership is crucially important and we are aware of the ongoing changes in the SPA with the current Chief Executive about to retire and be replaced by one of her deputies. The impact of both the former chair and the CEO have been positively commented on in previous reports but is worth reiterating that the task they have undertaken over the last 5 years has moved the organisation forward significantly.

Policing in Scotland is a complex and multifaceted activity. Police Scotland has been on a ‘reform journey’ ever since its formation in 2013, but there are still opportunities for a redesign that will meet future budgetary challenges (these opportunities are included in the change programmes supported by the current three-year business plan). The strategy for 2030, endorsed by the SPA, requires careful management and alignment of the change portfolio to ensure that this is delivered. This will also mean that any change programmes that are not required by law, or any that do not add to delivery of the strategy, must fully be reconsidered and closed. I am equally clear that such a reform journey cannot simply be a further reduction of capability within policing.

The work that is underway to improve the organisation further will be challenging and it will take time to deliver outcomes. These outcomes based on the Police Scotland 2030 strategy should be reported in a clear and unambiguous manner to ensure visibility of the continued efforts of the service to improve. This has to be done while continuing to offer the high quality of service that the people of Scotland demand and deserve. Our role is to strive to improve policing, and we welcome the work done by Police Scotland, the SPA, Forensic Services and the wider justice system to continually improve, despite the challenges they face. This requires strong leadership and significant resilience, and we recognise this in the Service and partner bodies.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary
August 2025