Chamber and committees

The enforcement that we have just discussed through environmental health—and trading standards, I imagine—is extremely important. The increase in cases is clearly a concern for us all. As well as enforcement, is there work with partners that needs to be done, or is being done, to raise greater awareness of the issues in the public domain and help with the wider deterrence that clearly must be part of the response? As you have acknowledged, most of what is produced, procured and sold is done in good faith and at high standard, but in the examples where we have bad-faith actors, how do we raise more awareness and create more deterrence?

How much engagement is there on scheduling? For example, in Edinburgh, when we have the August festivals, the additional pressure on the police service is obvious. If there are home games at Tynecastle or Easter Road against one of the big Glasgow clubs at the start of the football season, that has an added impact, and there will be a very big concert at Murrayfield during the festivals next year. Police Scotland have never said to me, an MSP who represents part of this city, that it has difficulties and is not able to meet that demand. It seems that there needs to be a logical approach to scheduling and considering the demands on the force.

Do those conversations take place with the other parties that are involved?

That was all very helpful. Does anyone want to touch on the impact that regular events and major events have on demand?

I will follow the previous line of questioning. We are all aware of the difficulties with the i6 programme and the continued need for improvement in the overall infrastructure of Police Scotland’s IT systems. Will the roll-out of body-worn cameras be future proofed for further IT enhancement in the service?

Thank you. I just thought that that was an important point of clarity.

Police Scotland’s submission says that a workforce survey was undertaken in the summer, and we await the results, which will be interesting and important and will give us a refreshed empirical base. This might be anecdotal, but my engagement is similar to that of trade union representatives, in that people in my constituency who come to see me normally do so at a time of challenge.

How is the police interaction with other services still affecting demand? For example, when officers have to accompany people to adult mental health services, the waiting times have an effect on the police service’s capacity to attend other cases and incidents, and it is frustrating for officers to have to wait hours in order to fulfil their duty of care. To what extent is that still an issue?

You talked about rest, which is obviously extremely important, and the challenge in scheduling shifts. How much of an impact do other events in our society, such as sporting and cultural activities, have? I know that, in Edinburgh, a lot of officers’ leave gets cancelled in order for them to cover such events. How much thought is given by organisations and businesses to the police’s capacity to safely deal with such events and to the effect that such events have on the increasing demand on officers in our country?

I am just checking that the roll-out of body-worn cameras will last if and when there is a change to the software that is used at national level. Are we procuring technology that is going to last and be cohesive and coherent?

I have no doubt that that happens at that level with central Government, but I am asking more about private sector organisations with private interests.

For clarity and completeness, could you write to the committee on why the legislation in Scotland does not allow us to do things in the same way that has been examined elsewhere?

Are partners, whether it is the national health service, local authorities or others, playing their part effectively and proactively enough to help to deal with this?

You mentioned the behaviour in the community of a small minority of under-18s towards officers. Anecdotally and more widely, it seems that that is a growing problem and concern. Could you provide some written feedback to the committee after the meeting? I do not want to detract from the issue of mental health, but—