LINKS TO ACADEMIA

University of Chicago Police Leadership Programme

An opportunity for development of officers at Chief Inspecting/Inspecting Ranks was received into the International Academy from the University of Chicago. The Police Leadership Academy offers a leadership course delivered over 5 months which requires participants to be in Chicago for one week every month.

Following discussion at the International Development Board a decision was taken to offer the placement to the Accelerated Leadership Programme (ALP). Given the abstraction from daily business, it was agreed the successful applicant would then be seconded to the IA to serve their next rotation providing an opportunity to expose the officer to international policing and allow them to undertake a research project with an international focus but linked to policing challenges in Scotland.

The proposal for the selected officer is to examine the potential link in increased knife crime in Scotland and the review of Stop and Search policy.
This programme is fully funded by the University of Chicago.

FBI National Academy Leadership Programme

A development opportunity has been received from The Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy (FBINA). The FBINA have offered an opportunity for officers to join a ten-week programme at their training academy in Quantico, Virginia, USA. This comprehensive programme places particular emphasis on leadership development and is aimed at Chief Inspecting ranks.

This is a welcomed opportunity for Police Scotland to participate given the recent withdrawal of funding for the FBI’s flagship training programme, the National Executive Institute, and ensures the strategic relationship with the FBI continues while broadening the ranks at which PS officers can apply to experience an international development opportunity. DCI Caroline Wilson was successful in her interview with the FBI attaché in London earlier in the year and will participate in the course later in the year.

This programme is partially funded by the FBI.

University of the Arctic (UArctic)

Borne out of Norwegian Police Mentoring programme, there has been various discussions around funding and sharing of information throughout the Nordic region and beyond. After various meetings and enquiries, it was established the University of the Arctic (UArctic) would be an ideal match for wider development of the mentoring programme and provide a multitude of benefits for the whole of Police Scotland.

UArctic is a network of universities, colleges, research institutes, and other organisations concerned with education and research in and about the North. It primarily includes institutions from the eight Arctic countries: Canada, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia (currently suspended), Sweden and the United States.

However, UArctic also includes non-Arctic members from countries such as Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan and the UK. These non-Arctic members often have a strong interest in Arctic research, education, and policy.

In February 2005, the IA applied to become a member of UArctic and have now been accepted to this network after Insp James Sinclair presented to the General Committee at their annual conference in Inari, Finland in June 2025.

Benefits to Scotland: These academic opportunities have ensured that the International Academy now has a golden thread of international development programmes running at each rank across the organisation. They provide clear personal development opportunities for our officers and hopefully will present future opportunities to work with wider police academic organisations.

Inbound Study Tours
The IA continue to host inbound study tours to various law enforcement agencies, mainly from across Europe but also some further afield. Where possible, these provide opportunities for Police Scotland subject matter experts to be involved in the presentations which allows a “compare and contrast” opportunity for them as well as being able to showcase Police Scotland in a positive, professional light.

October 2025 will see our first truly international inbound tour with 30 police officers from 6 different countries come together and participate in one of our programmes.

These inbound tours are fully cost recovered and the money reinvested into the development of Police Scotland officers to participate in many of the programmes listed above. This ensures the work of the International Academy is delivered at no financial cost to the taxpayer.