Jo Farrell, the inaugurated female chief constable of Police Scotland, sided with her predecessor Sir Iain Livingstone’s earlier disclosed admission that the force was culpable of institutional discrimination. Acknowledging the controversial sentiment on her very first day in the position, Farrell emphasized the necessity of the challenging message and expressed her unwavering commitment to pushing the boundary of an anti-discriminatory agenda.
Farrell pledged to give the highest priority to trust, confidence, high performance and the wellbeing of the staff and the officers under her leadership. She declared that it was high time the force owned up to its institutional discrimination after taking into account the underlying reasons behind Sir Iain’s confession. She agreed that many honorable staff members and their steadfast officers may have difficulty accepting this message, but acceptance was the first step to change.
Insisting on the importance of respecting diverse backgrounds and experiences, she admitted the dismal truth that the service has not always upheld this core value in the past. She underlined the onus on the organization to root out and eliminate all forms of bias, prejudice and dishonorable behavior at every level and address the existing gaps.
Farrell will now be carrying forward the legacy of Livingstone’s brave transparency echoed back in May when he spoke out about the institutional problems of racism, sexism and discrimination within Police Scotland. His statement then attracted immense support and admiration from many, despite falling under the disapproving scrutiny of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) who criticized that the force’s reputation was being tainted due to the faults of a few.
The SPF chair, David Threadgold, stressed their commitment to collaborating with the service to weed out officers failing to uphold professional standards in Scotland. He drew attention to the need for top-down cultural overhaul, urging the chief constable to work towards safeguarding the policing budget and cease the depleting physical and human infrastructure of their proud service.
Amnesty International UK’s head of various nations and regions, Patrick Corrigan, believed that Livingstone’s statement was an honest one, albeit a forewarning announcing what many already knew firsthand. Looking forward, Corrigan now expects Farrell to make a prompt move and articulate her action plan.
Scotland’s Justice Secretary, Angela Constance MSP had words of encouragement and welcome for Ms Farrell, Scotland’s national force’s first female leader. Constance expressed her confidence in forming a robust alliance with Farrell, sharing a mutual aspiration to ensure sustainable excellence in Scotland’s police service.
However, despite her optimism, Ms Farrell, formerly the chief constable at Durham Constabulary, is no stranger to the immediate challenges ahead as she transitions from one of the smallest police forces in England to the second largest in the UK. This includes a dismal financial scenario, fewer officers tasked with more work, dropping crime detection rates and a freeze on civilian staff recruitment owing to a predicted budget overspend of £19m. Further adding to the stress, the induction of 200 new recruits scheduled in January has been deferred, forecasting an officer count drop to the lowest number since the SNP commenced office in 2007.
Despite these hurdles, the Scottish Government assured a promising 6.3% budget increase for the current year and noted that Scottish police officers remain the highest paid in the UK, per capita, more than England and Wales.
