As we reach the point in December where diaries magically develop an extra meeting called “Festive Something” (usually scheduled right on top of your one free afternoon), I wanted to send a genuine message of thanks – and a wee moment of pause – from me, and from all of us at ASPS.
If 2025 were a piece of police kit, it would be one that has clearly been put through its paces – stretched, tested, and depended upon in ways that were never part of the original design. That said: you’ve done it. Again. Quietly, professionally, and often with a wry humour that would be impossible to explain to anyone outside the job.
This year we started by shining a light on the reality that core policing is being pulled off course by demand that belongs elsewhere. In January, I set out how mental-health-related calls had climbed dramatically over recent years, and how that “mission creep” is dragging performance away from core duties – while the workforce continues to absorb risk, frustration and human tragedy on the frontline. That conversation matters because it’s not about blame; it’s about accountability, capacity, and the public getting the right response from the right service.
In February, we had the arbitration outcome on pay, and I know many members felt the familiar mix of disappointment and fatigue. But I also said – and I’ll repeat it here – that this year underlined something important: Staff Side unity, a willingness to fight for the strongest possible case, and the growing weight of evidence about real-terms pay deterioration. Those aren’t abstract points; they are the foundations we need for the next rounds of negotiation, and I firmly believe this is where the seeds for this year’s award were sown.
By April, we were back in the thick of it with the 2025/26 pay claim: a 4.5% headline uplift, alongside the bigger strategic conversation about pay restoration, and practical asks that speak directly to members’ lived experience – particularly on-call, workforce agreement compliance, and family leave arrangements that should reflect modern expectations and basic fairness.
In May, at our Annual Conference, we were clear about what Scottish policing must avoid: the kind of relentless, short-term political tinkering that has hollowed out resilience elsewhere.
We also made the serious point that “record budgets” don’t mean much if they don’t keep pace with inflation, demand, or the actual cost of delivering policing. And we were equally clear: no Chief Constable should ever be forced into the false choice of cutting officer numbers to pay an award that values the workforce.
Through the summer, the operational tempo didn’t exactly ease off. This summer’s policing calendar brought unique operational demands when President Donald Trump visited Scotland in late July, followed shortly afterwards by Vice President J.D. Vance holidaying here in August.
As President of ASPS, I was on record highlighting that the private visit of an international head of state would require Police Scotland to plan and deliver a significant, multi-day policing operation, drawing heavily on local divisions as well as specialist functions such as contact, command and control – and, in doing so, would inevitably stretch already scarce resources at a time when superintending ranks are at some of their lowest levels in recent memory.
The scale of these deployments, including managing public order, security and community reassurance alongside expected protests, called for intense leadership and coordination across the service and underlined the very real pressures we consistently raise on behalf of our members. It isn’t melodrama to say that these pressures have consequences measured in burnout, attrition, and long-term harm to wellbeing.
In August, we welcomed the two-year pay settlement through PNBS, not because it solved every problem, but because it brought clarity and created space for the work that must continue: improving regulations and, crucially, reducing excessive working hours – something other public-sector workforces have already progressed.
By autumn, the themes of welfare and resilience came into sharp focus. I wrote about the acceleration of stress and psychological illness, and the uncomfortable truth that senior officers often keep going until they can’t – and then it’s hard to get them back. The answer isn’t a poster, a webinar, or a slogan; it’s adequate resource, realistic workloads, and an organisational culture that treats wellbeing as operationally essential.
And in November, ASPS joined with the SPF to launch “Assault The Police? No Early Release” – calling for those convicted of assaults on police officers and staff to be excluded from early release schemes. We did that because violence against the police cannot be normalised, and because every assault statistic is a human being – with a family – who should be able to go to work and come home safe.
So, yes: 2025 has been demanding. But it has also shown what this Association exists to do – to be a steady, credible voice; to tell the truth about pressures and consequences; and to stand up for the welfare, fairness and professional respect that senior operational leaders (and everyone they lead) deserve.
For those of you that are in work over the Christmas period: I hope you get at least one day over the festive period where nobody asks you for “a quick view,” nobody forwards you an email that begins “Sorry to bother you, but…” and nobody mentions the words “just in case, so you can have oversight…” I also hope your phone stays suspiciously quiet, your roast potatoes achieve the kind of crispness normally reserved for my parade uniform, and your only on-call relates to someone needing help opening a tin of Quality Street.
But in all seriousness: thank you. For your leadership, your support of me and your Association, your resilience, and the care you show your teams and communities – often while carrying far more than anyone sees.
Please take time to rest, to reconnect with the people who keep you grounded, and to properly switch off where you can. And if you can’t switch off, know this: you’re not alone, and ASPS will keep doing the work that needs done.
Wishing you and your families a peaceful Christmas and a healthy, hopeful New Year.
With warmest wishes,
Rob Hay,
President, Association of Scottish Police Superintendents.