The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) is seeking the views of communities and partners on the key policing issues they believe the Authority should be scrutinising in the year ahead.
The consultation has been initiated by the SPA to inform which key police-related topics will form the Authority’s in-depth scrutiny work plan for 2014-15.
The Authority has a legal obligation to contribute to continuous improvement in policing and hold the Chief Constable to account for the policing service delivered. Setting a scrutiny work plan which is informed by public and partners views is one important way of delivering on that.
Since its establishment in April, the Authority has already looked at a number of police-related topics and initiated an in-depth look at the issues and concerns around the use of stop and search as a police tactic across Scotland.
The Authority is inviting anyone with a view on policing to submit up to three suggested policing issues for the SPA to consider when setting its work plan.
Launching the consultation, SPA chair Vic Emery said: “A single police service concentrates decision-making, and brings significant opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the service. That also brings a need for equally strong accountability.
“Good governance means genuine public participation in setting police priorities, and rigorous scrutiny of how well it meets them. The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) is the national body where those twin objectives come together.
“One of the principles of good governance is that when we are making important choices about services, we ensure that the public voice is brought into that process.
“A fundamental area of our work in the coming year includes how we scrutinise and understand key policing policies and performance.
“We want communities and policing partners to share their priorities on the policing issues that concern them, so we can use that insight to inform our scrutiny work plan for the year ahead.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
