BOBBIES before boundaries.
It may be a neat catchphrase but is it possible to fashion a single Scottish police force that remains both answerable to local communities and is untainted by political interference from Holyrood? Those are the two main issues to be thrashed out during the eight-week consultation that began yesterday when Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill set about putting flesh on the bones of the proposal announced by Alex Salmond on Wednesday.
On the face of it, the idea of a local police commander for each of Scotland’s 32 council areas, responsible for delivering a local police plan, overseen by a committee appointed by the local authority, is both more logical and potentially more democratically accountable than the prsent system of police boards covering up to 12 local authority areas. The current governance arrangements are neither rational nor consistent and the new arrangement would involve the active participation of far more councillors.
However, it appears disingenuous of Mr MacAskill to insist, as he did yesterday: “There is no centralisation.” At present local authorities account for 51% of the police budget and under the new arrangements every penny of the annual £1.4bn budget will come a single central budget. The SNP Government is enthusiastic about powers being devolved from Westminster to Holyrood but, in the case of the council tax freeze, it seems less eager to devolve its own powers to local communities.
Much of the debate about the proposal for a single force will focus on the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) to which Scotland’s chief constable will be answerable. “There will be no political interference,” insisted Mr MacAskill yesterday. The public will want to see clear blue water between politics and policing, unlike in London where the mayor appears to call the shots. Can the SPA be a truly arms-length body, when its chairman and members are appointed by ministers? Much attention will focus on the make-up and political complexion of the authority.
A number of other countries operate a single force, including the Irish Republic, Denmark and Norway. In a world in which, increasingly, criminals range across regional borders, the police need to do the same. A unified force will facilitate more sharing of information and resources in tackling fraud, human trafficking, serious organised crime and the growing menace of cyber crime.
Politicians tend to both underestimate the costs of major reorganisations and over-estimate ultimate savings. However, when budgets are tight, it makes sense to make savings from rationalising payroll functions and HR, instead of cutting front-line officer numbers or their pay and conditions.
The Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 will be the biggest police operation in Scotland since the G8 Summit at Gleneagles in 2005. If Scotland’s new unified police force is to be ready for action, it needs to start getting into shape as soon as possible.
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