Strategic review of policing violence in Scotland - terms of reference

Introduction

1. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) has committed to an inspection of policing violence in Scotland, as part of its Scrutiny Plan for 2025 – 2028. This commitment followed a wide-ranging consultation undertaken by HMICS in 2024 to inform future scrutiny.

2. Violence affects all sections of society and has long been an operational priority for Police Scotland. The current evidence shows a complex and changing picture of violence in Scotland. Whilst overall levels of violence remain below historical peaks, trends vary, and there have been recorded increases in several areas in recent years^[2],^[3], generating significant public and political concern.

3. The scrutiny plan states that we will consider how effectively policing in Scotland addresses violence and violent crime, including violence against women and girls (VAWG). It commits to looking at how well preventative approaches are embedded and coordinated, including the public health approach to reducing violence.

4. We will do this through conducting a strategic review of policing violence in Scotland in the first instance. HMICS strategic reviews provide assurance, identify issues and make recommendations for improvement. If significant issues are identified in the course of this strategic review, we may subsequently undertake more directed scrutiny such as through thematic inspection(s) of one or more areas of violence.

Aim

5. The overall aim of this strategic review will be to assess the state, efficiency and effectiveness of policing violence in Scotland, with an emphasis on work to reduce and prevent violence, including the public health approach.

Background

6. Violence is a broad and complex concept and topic, lacking a standard definition. Both Police Scotland and the Scottish Government (SG) describe it as a cross cutting issue that can take many forms, with Police Scotland stating that it can ‘have a profound and lasting effect on individuals, families and communities’^[4]. The definition of violence given by the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU) also outlines its complexity, referring to the World Health Organisation’s typology of violence in categorising it as self-directed, interpersonal or collective, whilst stating that many forms are interrelated and cannot be treated in isolation.

7. Other forms of violence are being increasingly explored in critical criminology literature, such as structural or indirect violence, whereby physical, psychological and socio-economic harms that are connected to social and political institutions, systems and structures are identified. Whilst these wider perspectives are gaining visibility in the Scottish policy landscape, the more conventional and legal definition of violence as ‘intentional, physical, interpersonal and discrete incidents of harm’^[5] is still dominant.

8. The Scottish Crime Recording Standard (2026) includes violent crimes within two groups, Group 1 – Non-sexual crimes of violence, and Group 2 – Sexual Crimes. Within each of the categories are detailed a large number of specific crimes, although not all would necessarily be viewed as physically violent crimes. This illustrates the complexity of the topic, and current debates around definitions of violence.

9. Violent offences are often divided into broad categories such as violence against women and girls (VAWG); violence affecting young people; assaults on workers including emergency workers and those within care, education, transport and retail settings; violence linked to serious and organised crime; violence linked to extremism and terrorism; and violence linked to community tensions. Such categorisation can mean that the complex and varied factors that influence patterns of violence in Scotland can sometimes be obscured.

10. What is not always evident in reported figures of violent crime is the issue of repeat perpetration or victimisation. This is the experience of being the perpetrator or victim of the same type of offence more than once. For example, the Scottish Government Recorded Crime in Scotland (2025 - 2026) does not show the extent of demand driven by repeat victims, repeat offenders or repeat locations. This was raised as an issue by the Chief Constable in her 2024 - 2025 assessment of policing performance.

11. The role of Police Scotland in addressing violence is set out in the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. Whilst policing has a clear requirement to enforce the law in relation to violent crimes, the Act also details the police role in preventing and reducing violence. It states that its purpose is to ‘improve the safety and wellbeing of people, places and communities in Scotland’, and that it should do so in collaboration with others where appropriate, engaging with local communities and promoting measures to ‘prevent crime, harm and disorder’. This commitment was reiterated by the Chief Constable in her recent report to the SPA Board meeting in July 2026.

12. The partnership approach within Police Scotland to addressing violence has a long history. In 2002, the World Health Organisation published its World report on violence and health, and subsequently set up its Violence Prevention Alliance. In 2005, responding to an epidemic of violent crime, Scotland led the way by opening the first violence reduction unit in the UK (the SVRU). The SVRU became the first police member of the WHO Violence Prevention Alliance, adopting its core principles, particularly its public health approach, in its efforts to reduce violence.

13. A public health approach to violence reduction means recognition of its wide-ranging causes, seeing it as a health epidemic, rather than focusing on the individual.^[6] This is the national Scottish approach, as seen in the Scottish Government Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland (2023). Police Scotland is a key partner in this whole-system approach. The current Scottish Government programme cycle concluded in March 2026, with future arrangements yet to be fully articulated.

14. Police Scotland is currently developing their organisational Violence Prevention Strategy, with publication planned to follow that of the Scottish Government Framework. HMICS understand that Police Scotland’s strategy will be structured around four core pillars – Pursue, Prevent, Protect and Prepare, consistent with established policing models, and aims to be complemented by a strong focus on performance and outcomes. This aligns with their 2030 vision of safer communities, less crime, supported victims and a thriving workforce.

15. There are different Police Scotland business areas and operations involved in policing violence, which are aligned to various strategies and policies. These include but are not limited to the Specialist Crime Division departments of Major Crime, Public Protection, Local Crime, Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Support, Digital Forensics, Cybercrime, Policing Together and Safer Communities, Operation Stardrop, and the VAWG portfolio, as well as frontline uniform and detective resources in local policing divisions.

[2] Police Scotland, Policing Performance Committee, 17 March 2026.
[3] Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland 2025-26, 2026.
[4] Scottish Police Authority, Deep Dive Analysis of Violence - Agenda item 3.3, 18 September 2026.
[5] Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, Taking Stock of Violence in Scotland, August 2019.
[6] Fraser A & Irwin-Rogers K. (2021), A public health approach to violence reduction. Dartington: Research in Practice.
[7] Scottish Police Authority, Violence Affecting Children & Young People - Agenda item 3.4, 16 September 2025.