A thriving workforce

Officer recruitment
On Thursday, 15 May, we welcomed 68 new recruits who made their declaration of a constable at events at Police Scotland Headquarters, Tulliallan, the Scottish Police Training Centre in Jackton and in Aberdeen and Inverness, maintaining our officer establishment at over 16,500.

Chief officers and other senior leaders addressed the probationary officers, who will deploy to communities following their initial training.

Total pay and reward
Negotiations on pay agreements for 2025-26 are formally under way.

The Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland (PNBS) submitted its pay claim on Tuesday 1 April, 2025, seeking a 4.5% increase to all pay points and other significant changes to pay, terms and conditions.

On Tuesday, 15 April, 2025, trade unions UNISON and Unite the Union submitted the pay claim for police staff for financial year 2025/26. They are seeking a 7% increase to all pay points and other changes.

Pay and reward is rightly a focus for our workforce and I have committed to communicating proactively about our approach and progress on agreements.

Working with the Scottish Government and the Authority, we want to achieve a pay and reward agreement which is evidence based, affordable and which takes into account current and projected inflation and broader public sector pay, as well as terms and conditions.

Alongside pay, I want to ensure our total reward offer gives officers and staff the right support when they need it most.

In that regard, in April we introduced two key improvements to our family friendly leave provision are testament to that.

Colleagues can now receive neonatal leave of up to 12 weeks at full pay and up to two weeks’ full paid leave if they have suffered a loss at any point during pregnancy.

Special Constable Conference
Between Friday, 9 May, and Sunday, 11 May, around 100 Special Constables gathered at Police Scotland Headquarters, Tulliallan, for their annual conference.

Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors addressed delegates and I would underline my deep gratitude to our Special Constables, whose volunteering provides significant additional experience, skill and local knowledge to their deployments.

This last year alone Special Constables have delivered over 50,000 volunteering hours to support operational service delivery. I want to support our volunteers and to create more opportunities to encourage people to become Special Constables.

Victory in Europe Day
On Thursday, 8 May, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland represented Police Scotland at a Victory in Europe Day service hosted by the Lord Provost at Glasgow Cathedral.

Policing in Scotland has a long tradition of supporting our armed services and recruiting veterans, with 700 veterans across the service and over 200 officers and members of staff who are reservists.

The 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe is a significant moment in history that brought an end to the Second World War in Europe and a period of reflection for our communities. I would take this opportunity to recognise and thank our highly valued officers and staff with links to our armed forces for their service.

Engaging with our leaders
To improve how we engage with our workforce, in recent weeks and along with the wider Chief Officer Team, I’ve spoken directly with hundreds of officers and staff during senior and extended leaders’ engagement sessions.

The in-person and online sessions focused on about how the Service is delivering our 2030 vision and how leaders can work collectively to bring colleagues on that journey of change with us.

We will be hosting more of these events, in various parts of the country, in the coming months to talk about the work we are doing to deliver safer communities, less crime, supported victims and a thriving workforce.