Overview

During the summer officers, staff, and volunteers, supported by colleagues from across UK policing, blue light and health services, local authorities, military, Scottish and UK governments, and third sector colleagues, have ensured safety and security across a range of events, most notably the visit to Scotland of the President of the United States Donald Trump.

At the same time, my report outlines the broad range of policing our workforce delivers day in, day out, for the benefit of our communities, including investigations and arrests following murders, the ongoing disruption of serious and organised crime, including arrests under Operation Portaledge, action as part of human trafficking investigations, proactivity around retail crime, and non-recent investigations.

Enabling major events and delivering on the day-to-day needs of communities underlines policing's essential role in building the safety, security, and social cohesion which are pre-requisites for Scotland and its people to thrive and flourish. I am hugely grateful to our important partners for their collaboration and support in that shared mission.

I want to record my thanks for the efforts of officers, staff, and volunteers, including cancelling plans at relatively short notice, to take on additional, extended, or amended duties this summer. Policing in Scotland could not deliver for our communities without the hard work, professionalism and goodwill of our workforce and I do not under-estimate the sacrifices our people make to do their duty.

Policing is a demanding job and officers respond to dynamic, at times dangerous, situations with bravery and skill. My report outlines incidents where individuals have been charged in connection with the attempted murder of officers and the cases are now live for the purposes of contempt of court.

I would send a clear message that any violence against officers and staff is unacceptable and not simply part of the job. Over a period of years, the safety of officers and staff has been, and remains, a priority and we've worked to encourage reporting and reduce the impact of violence on our people, and to improve our own and the wider criminal justice response when our people are subjected to violence.

Maintaining and building a thriving workforce is a pillar of our vision for policing to deliver safer communities, less crime, and supported victims.

Ensuring our workforce is paid fairly while maintaining a sustainable service while public finances remain under intense pressure is an ongoing challenge and priority. My report details that headline 7.5% pay awards over years 2025-26 and 2026-27 have been made to officers and staff.

I am hugely encouraged the Scottish Police Federation has outlined their belief that the offer is the best achievable and I'm grateful to our staff associations and the unions for their constructive and professional engagement throughout pay negotiations.

At the same time, it is crucial we listen carefully to our people and act on what they tell us to improve their experiences and better support the frontline to deliver for our communities.

I have previously reported on the feedback we received from over 11,000 officers and staff who completed our workforce survey and action the service has taken to respond to some of the more challenging feedback, including a robust programme of internal face-to-face engagement supported by additional digital communication.

We've now commenced this year's survey and over the coming weeks we'll encourage officers and staff to complete the survey to provide an understanding of how change is being felt and what further action can be taken to support our people. We will provide further updates to the Authority on the findings of the survey and action to address what's most important to our workforce.

Lastly, I want to thank and congratulate serving and retired members of Police Scotland who joined colleagues from across the UK in a 200-mile cycle in memory of colleagues who died while on duty, raising significant funds for the important Care of Police Survivors (COPS) charity.