Consultation Hub

The 2018/19 Annual Police Plan (APP) sets out our priorities for policing and explains how we will deliver them over the forthcoming year. It offers a significant opportunity to improve how we serve the public and our communities.

We engaged with the public and partners to develop the final plan. Through this survey, we asked for views on our planned activities for the 2018/19 period. These related to the following priorities: Violence, Disorder and Antisocial Behaviour; Serious Organised Crime; Counter Terrorism; Protecting People at Risk of Harm; Road Safety and Road Crime; Acquisitive Crime.

We also welcomed any other comments.

The six week engagement period resulted in a total of 1102 responses from a wide range of partner agencies/organisations, as well as individual members of the public. The level of response, over the 6 six week period, compared favourably to other similar surveys or consultations run in recent years in Scotland.

These figures represent a strong level of support for the approaches set out within the APP and this provides Police Scotland with the assurance that these approaches have the support and confidence of the public and partners.

All responses have been reviewed and considered as the final version of the APP was developed. The detailed responses have also been shared with internal divisions and departments to enable further local engagement and continuous improvement.

The APP was laid before Parliament on 29 March 2018 and published on the Police Scotland website. A report with more details of the survey is available below.

In line with Police Scotland's 2026 Strategy, and to ensure our service is sustainable and appropriate for local needs, 53 premises across the country were identified for potential disposal without affecting the delivery of operational policing for local communities. Through public consultation, and engagement with communities, partners, stakeholders and elected officials, we sought the opinion of people from across the country as to whether there was support for the disposal of these premises.

Through the consultation, which received 1,731 responses, there was support for the disposal of 49 of the 53 properties.

The four properties where public feeling was against their disposal - Lairg in Sutherland, Lochboisdale on South Uist, and Dunvegan and Broadford on the Isle of Skye - will remain part of the Police Scotland Estate for the time being. Further detailed engagement with the relevant communities and partners will be carried out to try to find a solution which makes best use of these empty properties.

Policing 2026 is a collaborative and strategic programme of work by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and Police Scotland, intended to transform policing in Scotland over the next decade.

Between February and May 2017 we asked the public, our staff, stakeholders and our partners for views on our draft strategy document, in particular:

• whether it identified and acknowledged the main risks, challenges, opportunities and demands that are likely to impact on policing over the next 10 years
• whether the main areas of focus and methods proposed are the right ones to deliver an improved policing service
• about using public confidence as a key measure of success and effectiveness of performance
• our approach to re-shaping our organisation with a workforce focussed on having the right skills and capacity to meet future challenges
• if the strategy document was presented in a clear and understandable way

We also welcomed any other comments on the strategy and its impact.

We received 1715 responses to the consultation, supplemented by additional feedback we gathered from events and other activity with our staff, partners and the public, both before and during the consultation.

The strategy was well received with the majority agreeing with our proposals and approach across all questions.

Feedback was generally very positive about the vision set out in the strategy, the means of achieving it, and prospects for delivering sustained excellence in service and protection for the people of Scotland.

We undertook detailed analysis of the responses to the consultation and reviewed the strategy document against the feedback received.

As a result of the positive responses received there was no need to change the main elements of the strategy.

Some recurring themes were identified as a result of our analysis and you will see a stronger emphasis on the recognised value of our volunteer and charitable partners across the country. We have also reinforced our continued commitment to community planning to best serve local communities and to recognise the needs of our remote and rural communities. We have made more specific reference outlining our commitment to staff welfare and we have expanded on financial planning in response to comments about the future of police budgets over the next decade.

This helpful and constructive feedback about how we take the final strategy forward will also be built this into our implementation planning and future delivery.

The analysis report and responses to the consultation have now been published.