Police Scotland officers 'should face criminal charge for misconduct'

Police officers in Scotland who abuse their position should face a similar criminal charge to their colleagues south of the border, a watchdog has said.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), Craig Naylor, has called on the Scottish government to consider introducing new legislation to bring about the change.

Officers in England and Wales can currently face a charge of committing misconduct in public office if they abuse their position but no such offence exists for officers in Scotland.

The Scottish government told BBC Scotland News it would "carefully consider" introducing any new legislation.

Mr Naylor wants to see a new misconduct in public office law introduced in Scotland to help strengthen public trust in the standards of Police Scotland's officers and staff and in the policing system.

In his latest report, he said: "One aspect of this area of policing that is missing in Scotland is the concept of misconduct in public office.

"This charge has a high evidential test but is used, sparingly, in England and Wales, where it exists as an option when there is misuse of the office of constable.

"This test, and the case law associated with it, provides options that could strengthen public protection from officers or staff who misuse their position for personal gain."

'Significant reform needed'

Mr Naylor's report noted that a recent HMICS inspection of the vetting regime in Police Scotland had led to improvements in both the recruitment of new officers and the reviewing of existing employees.

He also said the force had responded separately to recommendations made by former Lord Advocate Lady Elish Angiolini in relation to the way it dealt with complaints about misconduct.

Mr Naylor went on to praise Police Scotland's "exceptional workforce", who he said were committed to protecting the vulnerable, supporting victims of crime and helping keep people safe.

He said HMICS had also been working closely with Audit Scotland to ensure best value in policing, and that he agreed significant reform was needed to protect services over the long term.

Lady Elish Angiolini previously made recommendations about how Police Scotland deals with complaints about misconduct

Mr Naylor added that while budgetary challenges would play a role in any future redesign of Police Scotland, improved integration of services across the public sector was key.

He said: "The need for a further reform of policing is widely acknowledged, but this must focus on defining the organisation that the future public of Scotland will need and can afford.

"This includes ensuring that wider systems are joined up and that responsibility for service delivery is apportioned fairly to relevant expertise across the public sector, since failing to deliver reform in other services defeats the benefits delivered by Police Scotland.

"Police Scotland has been on a reform journey for the past 11 years and - while there remain opportunities to redesign the organisation to meet future budgetary challenges - I am clear that such reform cannot simply be a further reduction of capability within policing."

A Scottish government spokeswoman said that Police Scotland officers "must be held to the highest standards" and that the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) Bill - currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament - would "further improve" the police complaints and misconduct systems.

The bill will create a statutory obligation for Police Scotland to have a code of ethics and give the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner additional powers, amid a host of changes.

The spokeswoman added: “The existing law of misconduct in public office that applies in England and Wales has been subject to independent review, and consideration is being given to a new offence by the UK government.

"We will carefully consider any new offence in conjunction with the UK government. Such an offence would apply to all public officials.”