Officers have been left feeling suicidal after lengthy conduct investigations and disciplinary proceedings by Police Scotland, a watchdog has found.
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) has raised serious concerns about the force’s conduct, discipline and whistleblowing systems.
The report found that Police Scotland failed to report all allegations of senior officer wrongdoing to its governing body, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), despite being required to do so.
For those who are investigated, the report found issues with the length of time taken for the probes to complete, with even “relatively minor matters” lasting for a “substantial duration”.
In more complex cases, including those where an officer may be charged with a criminal offence, the conduct and disciplinary process has seen some officers remain suspended for several years.
The inspectorate said delays were causing considerable impact on both staff mental well-being and the force’s operational capacity.
Wellbeing support for police officers and staff who were the subject of conduct and discipline processes was found to be inconsistent and perceived as inadequate, with some reporting severe mental health challenges, including feeling suicidal.
Inspectors heard from a number of those subject to conduct or discipline processes that it had a significant impact on their mental health.
The report calls for Police Scotland to review its approach to wellbeing support for any officers and staff involved in conduct and disciplinary processes, and to ensure that support given is tailored to their individual needs.
It also recommended that in cases where an officer or member of police staff dies by suicide while under an ongoing investigation or had recently been under investigation, this information is explicitly included in Police Scotland’s report about the death to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, Craig Naylor, said: “Every day in Scotland, police officers and staff face unpredictable and often dangerous situations that test their judgment and patience.
“The vast majority perform their duties professionally and conduct themselves appropriately both on and off duty.
“These public servants deserve to have confidence in conduct and discipline processes that are fair, proportionate and prompt.”
While the review report praised the “thorough and proportionate” investigations carried out by staff within Police Scotland’s professional standards department, it expressed concerns about how policing in Scotland deals with allegations of wrongdoing involving its most senior officers.
Allegations of misconduct concerning senior officers – defined as those holding the rank of assistant chief constable or above – must be referred to the SPA to carry out an initial assessment of any potential misconduct or other unsatisfactory behaviour.
However, the review found the force had failed to report all allegations of senior officer wrongdoing to the SPA, particularly complaints that were made anonymously through the integrity line reporting mechanism.
The report called for Police Scotland to share all complaints of alleged wrongdoing involving senior officers to the SPA without exception, including those made anonymously.
The inspectorate found some officers and staff reported occasions where Police Scotland’s senior leaders did not consistently demonstrate the expected standards of professional behaviour.
Mr Naylor said: “Senior officers are entrusted with significant leadership responsibilities and are expected to act as role models for the organisation.
“They are required to maintain the standard of professional behaviour at all times, demonstrating integrity, impartiality, professionalism and accountability in all aspects of their conduct.
“It is concerning that there is a belief in some of the workforce that some senior officers do not behave in line with these standards.”
The report found new officers received inconsistent levels of training on key ethical and conduct expectations, while there was a general lack of awareness for whistleblowing, describing the absence of an independent investigative body for whistleblowing as a “critical gap”.
Police Scotland said it had already dedicated “significant resources” to improving its misconduct, complaints and internal investigations systems, with all non-legislative recommendations from Lady Elish Angiolini’s review of complaints handling, investigations and misconduct already delivered.
A spokesperson said: “Police Scotland already places significant focus on ensuring our officers and staff know and live our values and standards of behaviour and understand how to raise concerns, including through independent whistleblowing.
“Our most recent workforce survey of over 10,000 people reported high levels of support for the statement that people in the organisation express behaviours which are consistent with our values and a moderately high level of support that people call out and challenge inappropriate behaviour or comments as part of an overall improvement in the assessment of culture.
“We continue to work to improve the experiences of our people and will conduct our annual survey this summer to understand what improvements are being felt and where we should place further focus.”
The national force said it accepted all the recommendations from the inspectorate and said it welcomed the recognition of areas of good practice.
The spokesperson added: “Police Scotland acknowledges commentary in the report around issues relating to senior officers and are considering carefully observations of what is a small evidence base.
“These matters should be seen in the context of evidence, including the first key point in the HMICS and Audit Scotland joint best value inspection that ‘policing in Scotland benefits from effective strategic leadership, with senior leaders working well together supported by open, constructive relationships’.
“The review also outlines 20 deaths by suicide among serving officers and staff between 2013 and 2024, noting that 20% of those individuals were subject to a complaint or conduct matter at the time.
“Each of those deaths was a unique and devastating tragedy and the full circumstances of each were reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
“We ask everyone to treat families affected with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
