Commonspace columnist Ian Dunn suggests the police tail is wagging the government dog…
IF there’s any comfort in the ongoing travails of Police Scotland it’s that it gives the impression it would struggle to watch Big Brother, let alone become it.
Nonetheless it seems determined to try.
This week saw the publication of an internal report by the police which admits its CCTV network is out of date, out of order and potentially illegal .
So we know that the police themselves think Scotland’s CCTV network is not up to scratch. We also know their proposed solution: More power for the police in the form of a centralised network of HD cameras that privacy campaigners say “will put too much control in the hands of a few individuals”.
The creation of Police Scotland was, let us be honest, primarily a cost cutting measure, and it has left the thin blue line so slender that at times it’s invisible.
This fits the wider pattern that has emerged since the creation of Police Scotland, that of a police force trying to compensate for the fact it is dangerously overstretched by seeking more powers and more control over ordinary citizens.
The creation of Police Scotland was, let us be honest, primarily a cost cutting measure, and it has left the thin blue line so slender that at times it’s invisible.
Nothing demonstrated this better than the tragic death of Lamara Bell and John Yuill . The police were called and told there had been a crash, but nobody followed the call up. Ms Bell was left in the wrecked car for days before later dying in hospital.
This was a tragedy waiting to happen and the police and the Scottish Government knew it.
Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie told Holyrood in March that the process of rationalization of police control rooms which handle these calls from 11 centres to four meant 1,000 calls were lost in one day, and non-emergency calls took 40 minutes to answer .
The most basic function of the police is to respond to emergencies. If they can’t do that tragedies such as that which happened to Lamara Bell are inevitable.
Chief Constable Stephen House has sought to compensate for his shrinking resources by seeking ever greater powers for his officers. So armed police are sent to pub brawls and stop drink drivers , police officers are encouraged to stop and search members of the public , even children, without any provocation, and Police Scotland steadfastly refuses to comment on allegations it spied on journalists .
Time and again the Scottish Government has been reacting to yet another police failing rather than ever trying to solve the problem at its source.
The police are seeking greater powers in order to do more with less, but overstretched, overpowered officers is a recipe for disaster.
Yet the Scottish Government seems determined to take a hands off approach to the police. Time and again the Scottish Government has been reacting to yet another police failing rather than ever trying to solve the problem at its source.
Since he became justice secretary last year, Michael Matheson has rightfully earned plaudits for taking the time to reconsider and revise old, unwise decisions. That’s not an option with Police Scotland as whatever the merits of a creating a single police force, it’s here to stay.
However he can, and should, institute a properly independent review of the force that looks at how to help it best achieve its essential functions while respecting the rights of individual Scots.
Picture courtesy of Ninian Reid