‘Debt of gratitude’

‘Debt of gratitude’

As Justice Secretary, my job – first and foremost – is to ensure the safety and resilience of Scotland’s communities.

This includes preventing and reducing crime.

Officers and staff of Police Scotland are the backbone of community safety. Thousands of officers respond to emergencies on the front line every day, tackling crime, upholding the rule of law, protecting lives and property, and providing many other services.

Police staff, too, play a crucial role, both on the front line and in a wide range of other services such as call handling, custody management, forensic services and tackling cybercrime.

I am continually thankful for their dedication and hard work.

That is why our budget for 2025/26 includes record investment in policing of £1.62 billion – an increase of £70 million – as part of our overall investment of almost £4.2 billion across the justice system.

This investment will support policing capacity and capability, the delivery of Police Scotland’s three-year business plan and its estates masterplan.

It will also enable progress on delivering priorities such as body-worn video cameras for officers.

Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority expect the devices will begin to be deployed from spring this year for the first tranche of over 10,000 officers and staff.

The budget will also support the continued expansion across the country of the Scottish Government’s world-leading ‘digital evidence sharing capability’ (DESC) initiative.

This innovative programme for the digital sharing of technology from crime scene to court room system has already seen cases coming to court and concluding quicker, with valuable police time being saved.

During a pilot of the programme in Dundee alone, around 19,500 pieces of evidence were handled through DESC, with almost 550 hours of police officers’ time freed up.

While recorded crime levels are at one of the lowest levels since 1974, there has been a concerning rise in retail crime, which causes significant harm and disruption to shopworkers and retailers and presents real challenges for police.

We have allocated up to £3 million in the budget to help Police Scotland, working alongside the sector, tackle the rise in such incidents.

One of my priorities this year is to continue to support actions to lessen the pressures put on police staff and officers of policing mental health incidents.

“None of this good work would be possible without the dedication and commitment of police officers and staff to serve the public”

Last month, a new framework was published that sets out how police, health, social work and other partners can work together to help those in mental health distress.

This will help ensure individuals are directed to the most appropriate care, while reducing pressure on police officers to focus on frontline responsibilities.

The framework will support ongoing activity in this area, such as the Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme – an innovative referral pathway which can provide support to people who present to emergency services or in primary care settings in a distressed state.

DBI is now available in 31 Health and Social Care Partnership areas. Some 82,000 people have been helped by DBI and pressure has been reduced on Police Scotland and other frontline responders.

More police time is being saved through summary case management – a judicially-led initiative which is improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the justice system.

It has led to improved experiences for victims and witnesses and fewer unnecessary court attendances for police officers. Summary case management will be rolled out to all sheriff courts in Scotland by the end of this year.

Whether it is keeping crime down or ensuring those in mental health distress get the help they need, none of this good work would be possible without the dedication and commitment of police officers and staff to serve the public.

Policing is a challenging job and I am grateful for regular meetings and engagements with the Chief Constable, staff associations and unions, including the Scottish Police Federation, where I can hear directly about issues affecting officers and staff. I very much value these relationships.

Last month I had the privilege of congratulating the nominees and winners at the Chief Constable’s Bravery and Excellence Awards. While these awards showcase outstanding examples of policing, I know that as a matter of course, officers go above and beyond every single day to keep communities safe.

We all owe them a debt of gratitude.

Click to go to article

• Latest News