FOR some time now irrefutable evidence has been mounting that Police Scotland is a deeply troubled beat. The latest news that Chief Constable Phil Gormley has stepped aside after further allegations of gross misconduct were made against him only adds to a litany of controversy surrounding the force.
Trouble at the top has plagued Police Scotland. It’s almost two years ago now that its first chief constable, Sir Stephen House, departed after criticism over armed officers being put on routine patrol and force policy on stopping and searching juveniles.
Then there were the deaths of two people after officers took three days to respond to reports of their car leaving the road on the M9 near Stirling.
Since then, his replacement, Chief Constable Gormley, has fared little better. He came under close scrutiny after being investigated by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) over bullying allegations by a senior colleague.
This latest complaint against him has come from a member of the force’s executive which comprises Police Scotland’s senior management team, made up of officers ranked at Assistant Chief Constable and higher.
While Mr Gormley denies the allegations, and says he intends to resume his duties in the future, it seems clear Police Scotland’s leadership crisis is not going away. It is now more apparent than ever it is beset by problems at the very highest levels which now need to be urgently addressed.
There are also other issues. In the last few weeks the force revealed it will have a £22 million “underspend” this year, despite there being considerable concern over fewer officers on response policing, overtime restrictions and ageing vehicles and equipment
Hardly surprising then that calls for action are not limited to the question of Mr Gormley’s leadership. As Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has said, summing up the thoughts of many, the time has come for a much wider inquiry into how Police Scotland is run.
The temporary standing down of the chief constable is one thing, but the problems within the force are now so manifest that senior Scottish Government level intervention is now imperative.
It has long been believed Justice Secretary Michael Matheson, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Police Authority and Scottish Police Federation all wanted the current deputy chief constable, Iain Livingstone, to succeed Sir Stephen in 2015, but he was passed over for this most high profile of jobs.
Earlier this year Mr Livingstone announced he plans to leave Police Scotland, meaning his current stand-in role will do little to bring any long-term stability to this increasingly rocky ship. Two other senior officers also intimated they were moving on. The responsibility to act must now take on a new urgency for the Scottish Government. It must present itself as willing to step up to the plate, sort out the mess that is Police Scotland and make it fit for purpose.
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