Updates

King’s Birthday Honours

On behalf of the Scottish Police Authority, I want to congratulate three individuals recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours 2025 for their outstanding contribution to policing, criminal justice and public service.

Recently retired Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie was awarded the King’s Police Medal (KPM). Martin Fairley, Service Delivery Manager with Forensic Services has received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Nicky Page, Chief Officer of Human Resources with Police Scotland has received an Member of the British Empire (MBE).

Gary, Martin and Nicky have each made a significant contribution to policing and public service over many years. These Honours are greatly deserved and I want to thank each of them for their dedicated service.

Board Member Recruitment

I reported to the last Board meeting that a recruitment process was underway seeking five new Board members to join the Authority. The recruitment campaign was seeking applications from individuals with skills and experience in one of the following five areas:

• Advocating for and influencing policy or practice for minoritised ethnic communities
• Legal and compliance issues in the public sector
• Digital and technology-enabled change
• Policing experience at a strategic and operational level
• Financial expertise.

The process is being led by the Public Appointments Scotland team. As Chair of the Authority I am one of four members on the selection panel. The deadline for applications was early May 2025 and I am delighted there was such a positive response to the recruitment campaign from suitably qualified candidates. The interview and selection process is almost complete and an announcement will be made by the Scottish Government in due course. I hope to welcome new Members later this year.

Chief Executive Recruitment

The Authority launched a recruitment process seeking a new Chief Executive in April. The deadline for applications was 4 May 2025 and a robust recruitment and selection process concluded on 18 June 2025. The Authority will announce the appointment of the successful candidate once vetting and employment checks have concluded.

The successful candidate is expected to take up post in September following the retirement of Lynn Brown.

COSLA Civility Roundtable – 28 May 2025

On 28 May I attended a roundtable to discuss civility in public life, organised by COSLA and hosted by its President, Shona Morrison. Shona Robson, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government and key leaders from across civic society were also in attendance.

Police Scotland plays a critical role supporting and advising elected officials across all levels of public office in Scotland and we agreed further engagement around enhancements to this model. Key discussions focused on the barriers to elected office, however I am keen that we support this work through our planned focus over the coming year on community cohesion.

Scottish Institute for Policing Research - Conference

The Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) hosted its annual conference on Wednesday 28 May at Edinburgh Napier University. The conference focused on the future of policing and technology with key note inputs from Special Agent Elliot Peterson from the FBI and Dr Lisa Sugiura. Over the course of the day delegates had the opportunity to participate in sessions on technology and police wellbeing, routine policing and new technologies, serious and organised cyber-related harms, policing and social media, and automation, algorithms and advanced technologies in policing. I joined DCC Alan Speirs, HMICS Craig Naylor, SIPR Director Liz Aston and Special Agent Peterson on a panel to conclude the day. The panel discussion explored emerging harms, the evolving role of policing, global social and political dynamics, values and ideals, and the value of public consultation, scrutiny and governance in supporting public trust and confidence.

This was Professor Liz Aston’s last event with the Institute as Director so I want to take this opportunity to thank Liz for her leadership of SIPR since 2018, and wish her well as she moves on to new challenges.

Engagement with Scottish Police Federation

On 19 May, Tom Halpin and I met with representatives of the Scottish Police Federation to discuss a range of issues including officer numbers, demand and capacity concerns, training and development and the policing budget.

I am grateful to Federation representatives David Threadgold and David Kennedy for their ongoing constructive dialogue.

Engagement with Unite

On 9 June, the Chief Executive and I met with Unite to discuss staff wellbeing and feedback, the ongoing police staff pay negotiations for 2025/26 and work underway to improve and rationalise the police estate.

Our ongoing meetings with Unite provide valuable insight to support the Authority’s oversight and scrutiny of policing. I am grateful to Derek Balfour for this productive engagement.

Engagement with Association of Scottish Police Superintendents

On 16 June, the Chief Executive and I met with representatives of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS) to discuss issues including recent findings from a survey of Members, succession planning, training and development for Superintendents.

I am grateful to ASPS President Rob Hay, and General Secretary Stewart Carle for their thoughtful and constructive dialogue.

Sexual Crime and Violence Against Women and Girls

Following a deep dive into rape and sexual crime, presented to THE Policing Performance Committee on 19 March 2025, Authority Members received an update on Police Scotland’s work to deliver commitments made around Violence Against Women and Girls.

This work cuts across the remits of multiple Authority committees and oversight groups, so it was important to take some time for a wider discussion on the issues and how the work being delivered by Police Scotland will be reported through relevant committees as it progresses. Members were assured about the work being undertaken to assess strategic threats and design a public protection response, alongside partners, which responds to these threats. Aligned to this is the work that Police Scotland is doing through delivery of the Policing Together Strategy to address organisational culture and work on tackling sexism and misogyny.

Members Development

Each year Members are supported to fulfil our role and responsibilities with training and development to enhance our knowledge and experience of policing in a public interest context.

Members’ Seminars, Committee Development Days and Deep Dive Sessions allow Members to discuss issues impacting policing, reflect on topics and concerns and/or develop knowledge ahead of formal governance. Formal training and policing related visits, where we can see and experience aspects of policing or Forensic Services in action are also an important aspect of Member development.

A development programme for the year ahead is now underway which has been aligned to support the Board Objectives agreed for 2025-26.