Police Communication Concern Raised

Chief Constable Sir Stephen House has accepted that there has been a huge communication problem between Police Scotland, its officers and the public. Police Scotland has generated controversy since its inception, beginning with a public power struggle between Sir Stephen and his civilian watchdog, questions over the force's accountability, misunderstandings and inaccurate figures. There has also been disquiet among some sections of society over armed police, stop and search and the closure of police offices and control rooms. Sir Stephen acknowledged that the press attention he has received has been unwelcome but said about 80% of the public remain satisfied with the job Police Scotland is doing. Calum Steele, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said officers are still under the impression that they must fulfil a target for searching members of the public, despite repeated assurances to the contrary by Sir Stephen. Vic Emery, chairman of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), said they want to be more involved in police decision-making rather than knowing about stuff after the event''. Sir Stephen this week apologised to the SPA for amisunderstanding'' over inaccurate figures released to the press. Conservative MSP Margaret Mitchell questioned Sir Stephen about the communication problems at Holyrood's Justice Committee today. She said: This is rather breathtaking, Chief Constable.You're the Chief Constable. The responsibility for communicating with the rank-and-file from the top down rests with you. Clearly there has been a huge communication problem here.'' Sir Stephen said:Well, I accept your comments. It's my responsibility to communicate. I do that through a monthly video message to the organisation. We regularly meet with large numbers of officers to talk to them about it.'' He added:I think our communication is getting through. So far this year compared to last year, stop and search by volume is down 32% compared to the first year of Police Scotland.''