A thriving workforce

Passing out parade
On Friday, 13 June, 2025 I thanked and congratulated 118 probationary constables who were joined by family and friends for their passing out parade at Police Scotland Headquarters, Tulliallan.

Completing their initial training is an important milestone in the careers of officers and an opportunity for me to underline my expectations as they begin serving communities and continue their development.

Earlier this month, I met with officers and staff from our recruitment team at the police training centre at Jackton to thank them for their work on our ongoing recruitment campaign.

Service adviser pay grade increase
Earlier this month, around 500 service advisers at our Contact, Command and Control (C3) Division had their staff pay grade increased from a grade three, to a grade four, following a job evaluation process.

The upgrade represents a significant investment in our frontline and is separate to the ongoing pay award process for officers and staff.
Service advisers perform a vital role and I want to thank them for their hard work and dedication.

I would also like to thank Chief Superintendent Barry Blair and the team at C3 who worked closely with People and Development colleagues to accurately capture the requirements of the role, which has undoubtedly evolved over time, so that staff performing this role are appropriately recognised and rewarded

Senior and extended leaders engagement
On 11 and 12 June I was able to meet with almost 200 officers and staff for engagement events in Glasgow and Aberdeen, with a further event for senior leaders on Friday, 20 June, at Police Scotland Headquarters, Tulliallan.

The events are part of efforts to improve how we engage with our workforce and share information about how we are delivering over 2030 vision.

The sessions are also opportunities for the Chief Officer Team to hear about issues that matter to our frontline and we will continue to hold sessions throughout the year, across the country, and for all levels of the Service.

King's Birthday Honours
On Friday, 13 June 2025, recently retired Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie was awarded the King’s Police Medal (KPM) and Chief Officer of Human Resources Nicky Page was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

I want to warmly congratulate Gary and Nicky on this well deserved recognition of their outstanding careers in public service, leadership and collaboration across sectors. Police officers, staff and volunteers work hard to deliver for our communities and these awards are an opportunity to thank them and celebrate their huge contributions to society.

Inclusion recognition
During June, Police Scotland has continued to recognise milestones and events we know matter to our officers, staff, volunteers and the communities we serve.

As part of this, we’ve worked with the Scottish LGBTI Police Association to celebrate Pride Month.
This Pride Month, I’d like to thank individuals who joined our LGBTQI+ Citizens’ Panel. The panel worked between January and April 2025 to provide support on key themes including community engagement and visibility, transparency and trust, feeling safe, seen and welcome, training and education and our internal culture.

Between 9 June and 15 June, working with The Scottish Police Disability and Carers Association (DACA), we hosted a series of sessions including workshops on how carers can look after their own health and wellbeing and an event which aimed to support parents and carers of neurodivergent children.

Engaging with the diversity and lived experience across policing and society is an important part of our commitment to becoming an anti-discriminatory service and I would record my deep gratitude to our hugely valued staff associations for their support and hard work to advance our inclusion agenda.

Strategic engagement

Lord President and criminal justice partners engagement
On Thursday, 5 June 2025, along with Assistant Chief Constable Wendy Middleton, I met with the Lord President, the Rt Hon Lord Pentland, and the Lord Justice Clerk, the Rt Hon Lord Beckett, and Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service Chief Executive Malcolm Graham during an engagement session in Edinburgh.

The meeting was an important opportunity to explore shared efforts to achieve efficiencies and improve experiences across the criminal justice system with key partners and I was hugely grateful for the constructive and positive discussions.

Independent Police Advisory Council
Work is at an advanced stage to establish an Independent Police Advisory Council (IPAC) as a critical friend and partner supporting Police Scotland to deliver sustainable improvement to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Human Rights outcomes across the service.

The IPAC will replace groups including the National Independent Strategic Advisory Group, Independent Review Groups, Professional Reference Groups and the Border Commander Advisory Group.
Onboarding is planned over the coming weeks and the IPAC will have an independent chair, vice chair and a committee of up to 12 members all independent of Police Scotland and with experience of underrepresented communities and/or of delivering equality and diversity and human rights outcomes in academia and the public, private and third sectors.

The membership and knowledge base will be geographically and demographically diverse and they will represent their own views/advice and not represent on behalf of another organisation.
IPAC will meet quarterly and to offer informed expertise, guidance, challenge and assurance on policy, procedures and practices to safeguard against adverse impact on any section of the internal or external community.