Scottish Police Authority board members hit out at body for being a "waste of time" and "useless"

“Every time we try to bite, the government removes a tooth....I have been shocked, absolutely shocked at the level of government interaction.”

The SPA was set up as the oversight body for Police Scotland, but the watchdog has been accused of being slow to deal with controversies such as stop and search and armed policing.

Its independence has also been questioned amid claims the Government, which appoints SPA board members, exerts a strong influence behind the scenes.

Picture: Dr Malik

Dr Malik, an academic, recently completed a self-financed PhD into how the SPA has delivered on police governance and accountability.

A summary paper outlining the key elements of his thesis is published today, part of which includes interviews with anonymous SPA board members carried out between March 2015 and May 2016.

This means the quotes came from individuals who were on the board during this period, but who are not necessarily still in post.

In one section of the paper, board members clearly questioned the Government’s role during the life of the SPA.

One is quoted saying: “The central government throughout the entire process has been far too heavily involved...rather than having a separation of duties between government, SPA, [and the] police we very much had the government and the police, and the SPA almost as onlookers…”

A board colleague stated: “There has been a perception and the threat that if we overstep our responsibilities or if we were to upset the chief constable then the Cabinet Secretary would intervene to stop us from whatever it is we were doing, and that perception has had an effect on the ambitions of Police Scotland.”

Another board member expressed frustration at the SPA’s apparent failure to take the lead on issues such as stop and search:

“Who can blame the Scottish public in thinking this is a waste of time, this body. Because eventually politicians were making statements on these issues, and HMICS [a watchdog] were doing something and at the end of the day, the SPA limped into view almost because it had no other option…”

In the full PhD, rather than the summary paper, a board member said of the first two years of the SPA: “We have created an image for ourselves as being ineffective, not being proactive, being reactive, being in the government’s pocket, being in Chief Constable’s pocket, being useless, being on a gravy train, you know all of those things, they are really hard to overturn.”

The paper also contains Dr Malik’s own findings. In a section on the knowledge, skills and competency of board members, Dr Malik’s said they received “insufficient training” in the first year of the body and “principally relied on Police Scotland to develop training sessions for them”.

He argued: “However, this allowed senior officers to control and present the information they would like to be scrutinised on.”

A dearth of additional training, he wrote, resulted in board members lacking “confidence to raise or address issues of public concern”.

Among his recommendations, Dr Malik called for the SPA to position itself as a “buffer” between central government, local government and the police. He also wrote that is “essential” the SPA is able to “operate with sufficient autonomy”.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said:

“This testimony from SPA board members exposes the true extent of SNP Ministers’ meddling with the work of the police watchdog. This is a body that should be independent and able to freely scrutinise the performance of Police Scotland without fear of a government minister breathing down their neck.

“If the SPA is to regain the confidence of the public, then there must be major changes in the way in which it is allowed to operate.”

Scottish Labour Justice spokesperson Claire Baker MSP said: “Confidence in the ability of the SPA to do its job is at an all time low.

“These comments go to the heart of an organisation which its own members describe as lacking expertise and confidence, and as one which is hampered in its role by political interference and pressure from the Scottish Government."

SPA Deputy Chair Nicola Marchant said: "The Board of the SPA has acknowledged and is progressing areas for continuing improvement to strengthen its approach and governance of policing. Recent feedback from a number of stakeholders has welcomed progress to date. The review of the SPA being led by myself and Malcolm Burr provides an opportunity to clarify the responsibilities, resources and relationships? we need to build on that work.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Improvements have been made to the Authority’s governance since the time of this research, and also following this year’s independent HM Inspectorate report.

“We have also been clear about the Authority’s independence and would reject any suggestion of influencing the Board or preventing it from functioning effectively.

“A strong, robust police authority remains key to overseeing Scotland’s national police service as it continues to strengthen how it serves and safeguards the public, keeping crime down and communities safe.”