“The results of Police Scotland’s Staff Survey show the shocking result of chronic under-investment in leadership ranks in Police Scotland.
With numbers of Superintendents and Chief Superintendents dropping to the lowest level in living memory, it is little wonder that Senior Management Teams are criticised for poor visibility, lack of engagement and not communicating the myriad of changes the organisation throws at them. Senior leaders were let down badly last year when they were promised that cuts in staffing would not lead to more work for them, when this is precisely what happened. A further round of early and voluntary redundancy of senior police staff posts, left yet more work for senior officers to pick up. The reductions in the number of posts also left an unprecedented demand for on-call duties, stretching individuals to breaking point to provide basic coverage and diverting them from their core roles.
The most frustrating thing is that ASPS has been warning about this, in private and in public, for over a year. It is shameful that only 38% of the workforce feel valued, only 27% feel they have sufficient resources to do their jobs, only 17% feel Police Scotland will act on feedback, and most concerning of all that 68% of police officers would not recommend Police Scotland as an employer.
Any attempt to ‘spin’ these results as positive lacks basic respect for those keeping the service afloat against all odds. Hopefully this is a wake-up call for the Scottish Government to show police officers they are listening and deliver the investment required. What is clear from our members is that the answer cannot be simply to demand an action plan to improve these low scores from the same officers creaking under the strain placed upon them by cuts in numbers and resources. Such an approach risks widespread disenfranchisement and is doomed to failure.”