Our Strategic Outcomes

These five overarching strategic outcomes set out the direction for the services across the policing system, delivering against the Strategic Policing Priorities set by Scottish Government and providing coherence and coordination underpins the development and delivery of organisational, operational, transformation and business plans through which progress towards the outcomes will be made.

Strategic Outcome 1: Communities are safer and more secure, with less crime and improved wellbeing, through effective policing services reflective of local needs.

Policing will be delivered through a proactive and intelligence-led approach to keeping people safe and responding effectively to existing and emerging threats. There is a focus on problem solving, prevention, early intervention and harm reduction, and a renewed emphasis on policing working in and with communities, listening and being responsive to local needs through enhanced community policing.
Society is changing. We find ourselves moving at an ever-increasing pace from the purely physical to the hybridised digital world; a move that brings threats from new and more complex crimes as well as providing opportunities to embrace technology to counter these threats. This shift also affects traditional crime, much of which now has a digital element. To protect people effectively, the policing system has and will continue to evolve, adapting to the needs of communities whether they be defined by place or otherwise, sharpening its focus on keeping people safe from harm across the spectrum, whilst embracing innovative technologies and partnerships to enhance safety and wellbeing.

Strategic Outcome 2: Services are designed and delivered compassionately, in a trauma-informed and person-centred way to ensure victims have trust and confidence in policing and are supported.

The policing system will offer informed, sensitive and locally responsive support to victims, vulnerable people and others who are experiencing crisis. All policing services will be designed and developed through inclusive engagement from a listening and learning policing system that values and fully takes account of lived and living experience.

The role of policing is in improving the safety and wellbeing of people, wherever they live and however they define or see themselves as part of a community. This means services must continue to look to improve, to reflect, learn and evolve to meet the specific and changing needs of individuals and communities, ensuring that vulnerabilities are understood and responded to by the most appropriate service at the earliest opportunity.

Strategic Outcome 3: Partners and stakeholders are involved in developing a responsive and proactive whole-system approach to prevention, early intervention and harm reduction.

The policing system will champion collaboration and work in partnership at every opportunity, building effective long term improvement focused relationships. Policing will empower and support the design and development of whole system innovative and collaborative solutions to wicked societal and system-wide challenges. The focus will be on making the ‘whole system’ more integrated, joined up and accessible for people in need, promoting access to appropriate intervention, support or care by the most appropriate agency at the right time.

To achieve these aims the policing system will work with partners to deliver system best value by effectively optimising the impact of finite resources. Policing will make best use of the statutory role of policing to work in partnership through community planning partnerships and with other stakeholders and partners to maximise the effectiveness of public protection arrangements to deliver a successful early intervention and prevention focused approach.

Strategic Outcome 4: The policing working environment is safer and its culture more inclusive, and is one where inspiring leadership enables everyone to feel valued and supported.

People across the policing system will benefit from a well-led working environment where people thrive and can access the training, skills, equipment and professional development opportunities to enable them to perform to the best of their abilities and deliver the best possible services for the people places and communities in Scotland.

People are central to the success of policing in Scotland. They are drawn to serve from a wide range of backgrounds and bring a range of different skills and life experiences to policing but are brought together under our shared values and common purpose. It is essential that people are equipped with the skills, knowledge, technology and support they need to deliver safely and effectively, all within a positive and inspiring working environment.

Strategic Outcome 5: The policing system delivers best value through efficient, effective and sustainable services, which are adaptable and embrace opportunities for innovation and collaboration

Policing will reflect, learn and improve at the system level, organisational level and as individuals and teams. Policing will actively seek opportunities for innovation and coordination, challenging itself and partners to drive improvement, through an enhanced commitment to work collaboratively and sustainably. Delivering optimised outputs through strategically aligned, well designed and successfully delivered transformation programmes which maximise benefits, return on investment and best value. Policing will be future focused, embracing emerging technological advances to better counter the threats of today and prepare for the future threats and harms identified in horizon scanning. Policing will continue to adapt and to evolve in order to be highly prepared for and responsive to emerging societal, economic and geopolitical changes which will come in the future.