Public inquiries putting ‘extraordinary’ pressure on police – SPF chief

Public inquiries are placing “extraordinary” pressure on Police Scotland as they eat into its budget while taking frontline officers off the street, MSPs have been told.

David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), said public inquiries were having a “detrimental impact” on policing.

He said the issue could lead to a cycle in which taking officers away from their duties to deal with inquiries could ultimately result in more inquiries in the future, as the force suffers from a lack of resources.

Mr Kennedy called for a ring-fenced fund for public organisations involved in inquiries to ensure services are not harmed.

He told the Finance and Public Administration Committee: “The amount of and the sheer task that public inquiries place on the police service, resource wise, is quite extraordinary.

“And what I’ve certainly seen since taking up my post and being in the federation for nearly 20 years is there’s never any budget set aside for the police service to take up these inquiries.”

Mr Kennedy said the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry – one of several costing tens of millions of pounds – has cost Police Scotland £25 million, although it directly involves the force.

“On that figure alone, on a light scale, would give you 500 police officers,” he said.

“And with the current resourcing levels within Police Scotland, it is having an absolute detrimental effect on policing.”

Mr Kennedy said that came at the same time as one detective inspector was dealing with 176 rape inquiries.

“That shows you the knock-on effect that inquiries can have on the day-to-day running of policing,” he said.

Mr Kennedy added that the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry had also used 60 detectives at one point, which he said would take away from Police Scotland’s resources elsewhere.

He said the number of inquiries, which has increased in recent years, had led to some officers taking sick leave from work.

Mr Kennedy told MSPs: “The knock-on effect is when you have so many officers going on to a day shift role doing inquiries, that leaves the operational roles short.”

He warned that the issue could lead to more future inquiries, saying: “My concern at the moment is that we’re going to have more public inquiries in 10 years’ time because of items and cases that have been missed now, while we are taking people off the operational side of policing to help with the public inquiries that are ongoing.”

SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson, convener of the committee, said the situation could become a “self-perpetuating, increased cycle”.

Mr Kennedy said the system must be reformed, including Police Scotland receiving the full cost of engaging with inquiries.

His appearance comes as the committee investigates the cost-effectiveness of public inquiries in Scotland.

The total cost of the country’s public inquiries since 2007 currently totals £240 million, including £95.3 million for the ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.

Meanwhile, the NHS has spent more than £3 million responding to inquiries since 2021, with the service now having established a dedicated team to respond to inquiries.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We welcome the Finance and Public Administration Committee’s interest and look forward to hearing their views.

“Public inquiries operate independently of government and the chair has a legal duty to avoid unnecessary costs.

“Public inquiries are set up when no other avenue is deemed sufficient given the issues of public concern. In many cases they are set up with the support of, or in response to calls from, the Scottish Parliament.

“We are investing a record £1.64 billion for policing this year and Scotland continues to be a safe place to live, with recorded crime down 40% since 2006-07.”