Chamber and committees

Are you confident that communication, transparency and so on will be much better in future than they have been in the past few years?

Will the bill’s proposals on ethics and the duty of candour really change the perceived culture, which the former and current chief constables have described as discriminatory, racist and misogynistic?

Will that effect a culture change with regard to how domestic abuse allegations are dealt with and so on?

Good morning. Some of the issues that witnesses have told us about include the length of time taken to process complaints, a lack of transparency and a lack of communication. Will the bill address any of that? Moreover, the Scottish Police Federation told us that accelerated hearings within 35 days are already possible under the current misconduct regulations, but they do not happen. Can you shed some light on why that is?

I am sorry to interrupt, but when was that introduced?

I understand. That is helpful.

The SPA has reported only three dismissals out of 25 gross misconduct hearings. I would think that the bar for being charged with gross misconduct is very high, but three dismissals out of 25 does not seem a lot. Will you explain why the number of dismissals is so low?

Could you clarify what role your department plays in any complaint, such as an initial complaint, before it gets farmed out to other places?

Would it contact you directly?

Does the officer contact human resources?

Has an evaluation of that work been done at any point?