Thematic inspection of road policing in Scotland

Training for road policing officers

96. Road policing officers are given in-depth training in specialist road policing and road safety aspects such as pursuit management, hand-held speed detection and vehicle pursuits. There are also inputs on protecting of the scene of road collisions (locus protection) and the policing of the fast road network. This specialist training is highly valued by road policing officers.

97. A fully-qualified Police Scotland road policing officer must complete the following, as a minimum:

• road Patrol Officers course (RPO) module (5 days)
• RPO module 2 (10 days)
• advanced driving course (20 days)
• pursuit management tactics course (5 days)
• work towards completing the Road Policing Award Portfolio.

98. On completion of the minimum requirements, officers are then entitled to apply to attend further specialist courses. These include:

• motorcycle training
• crash investigation
• driving/motorcycle instructor
• hollow spiked tyre deflation system (HOSTYDs) (tire deflation tactics) instructor
• large vehicle prohibition
• tachograph analysis
• pursuit tactical advisor.

99. All courses delivered by driver training/road policing training are overseen, governed, monitored and audited by Police Scotland Quality Assurance Department. Courses are regularly inspected and audited to ensure compliance and accurate delivery.

100. Police Scotland driving instructors must complete the accredited Police Driving Instructor course, which is only available at the SPC and runs for eight weeks (i.e., above the recommended seven-week course length). This fully prepares instructors to coach, mentor and assess students, and to prepare and give classroom lessons.

101. Robust systems are in place to record and manage training profiles for each officer, and this is reviewed on a regular basis. Officers are prompted to arrange mandatory refresher training to carry out certain tasks. For example, police drivers require a High-Speed Driving Assessment (HSDA) every five years; pursuit authorised drivers require refresher training every three years; and HOSTYDs refresher training is carried out every three years.

102. Our inspection revealed that specialist training for road policing officers was of the highest standard across the multiple disciplines within the department. This view was reflected both in the information gleaned from Police Scotland and during focus groups conducted with police officers and staff. We consider this to be good practice, in view of the elevated complexity and physical risk associated with policing of the roads.

103. However, a lack of available courses (particularly driver training) was also highlighted as a concern. Many people we spoke with felt there was insufficient importance being placed on standard and advanced driver training, which they considered to be a key training priority. Some people expressed the opinion that Police Scotland reform programmes have resulted in chronic underinvestment in training – particularly for road policing training delivery. It was suggested that this did not receive the volume of training allocation the force required.

104. There is a growing backlog of training needs across multiple specialisms, including collision investigation; family liaison officers; and pursuit management officers. This backlog has been linked to a number of contributing factors, such as:

• the continued implementation of Police Scotland’s post-pandemic training needs prioritisation plan;
• the ongoing impacts of general staffing shortages, which limit opportunities for officers to address training needs;
• the impact of the implementation of the Police Driving (Prescribed Training) Regulations 2022, which were legally enacted on 30th November 2022.

105. The head of Police Scotland training recently estimated it would take 12 years to eliminate the backlog in training. The requirement to train armed police officers to the same level as road policing officers will reduce the cost allocation to road policing from the 2025/26 year onwards. Consequently, we understand recent figures estimate the backlog to be over 17 years.

106. Since most driver training instructors are also operational road policing officers, they (and their respective teams) experience disproportionate abstractions in servicing driver training backlogs.

107. Officers also brought up the apparent policy decision by the Police Scotland executive giving firearms and surveillance officers priority access to advanced driving courses (over and above road policing officers). Again, this is compounded by road policing officers also having to perform the required training roles.

Police Driving (Prescribed Training) Regulations 2022

108. The Police Driving (Prescribed Training) Regulations 2022, enacted in November 2022, deal with training obligations for police drivers, including refresher training. The regulations are critical in helping support any defence in the event a police officer faces prosecution as a consequence of driving a police vehicle. In the lead-up period to enactment, Police Scotland driver training amended its training products to ensure they met (and in some instances exceeded), the standards required in the regulations. Police driver training has responsibility for the allocation of training and output, as well as a legal requirement for driver re-authorisations.

109. It was apparent that Police Scotland could have been more proactive in increasing the number of trainers to accommodate the increased demand associated with the new legislation. Relying on the existing cadre of trainers placed additional strain on training capacity for driver training and other courses.

110. Due to the enforced changes to training requirements, there is a legal responsibility on the police to assess and re-assess police drivers within specified timeframes, or risk having their authority removed. Pursuit-trained officers must attend a two day refresher every three years and all trained police drivers are required to complete a one day high-speed driving assessment every five years. This aspect of re-certification is now delivered locally by road policing instructors. These additional requirements have led to a reduction in business-as-usual police driver training, with limited resources deployed within driver training.

111. We heard that Police Scotland was among a number of UK forces who took longer than necessary to come to terms with the implications of the emerging legislation. This was particularly the case in fully understanding which parts of the legislation would apply, and whether the organisation would be required to comply with all the terms of the new Act. This created delays in implementation, which may have placed Police Scotland at a disadvantage, facing a significant challenge to reduce or clear the backlogs.

112. The changes to prescribed driving classifications resulted in the “intermediate trained road policing drivers” (a temporary qualification in Scotland gained via enhanced driver training input, prior to full advanced driving course) not being recognised as a prescribed course. This significantly reduced the number of deployable road policing drivers (as previously, such ‘intermediate’ qualified officers could still perform many functional road policing roles).

113. We heard during interviews with officers and staff that the training backlogs and loss of intermediate qualification status was placing additional strain on the cadre of qualified advanced drivers. We were told that it could take over two years for officers to attend an advanced driving course. While some short-notice cancellations are available, these can be very challenging for officers in more distant locations, as they need time to make arrangements for residential training away from home.

114. There is a risk that road policing officers may not be in a position to perform to the legal standards expected because of the backlog of officers requiring essential driver training. Police Scotland should urgently take steps to address the critical training issues highlighted in this report. This should include consideration of conducting courses locally, rather than all students having to attend the SPC in Fife.

115. We acknowledge the good practice of the Road Policing Training Board meeting regularly (quarterly) to conduct senior management reviews of the training demand. We are also aware that Police Scotland has highlighted driving training courses on its corporate risk register (because of the training backlog). However, we consider that Police Scotland could have been better prepared to deal with the implications of the legislative change and the resultant backlog of critical training is an area in need of urgent prioritisation.

Training and Development

116. Road policing-related training for local policing officers begins with the initial probationary training course at the SPC, where students are given basic instruction on mostly legislation and criminal justice-related matters. This is supplemented by practical topics such as scene protection and dealing with drivers. The largely classroom-based curriculum also includes some practical training and includes activities on police considerations at RTC scenes, where they consider aspects pertaining to safety and use of locus protection methodology.

117. Police Scotland implemented a policy whereby local policing officers, in the absence of available road policing officers, could be requested to attend incidents on ‘fast roads’, which are typically ‘A’ Class single or multi-carriageway roads with national speed limits such as trunk roads and motorways.

118. At the time of our inspection, training for local policing officers engaged in operational duties on fast roads consisted of online Moodle training. This was created by driver training for all police officers and covers locus protection, safe stopping of vehicles, and health and safety advice. It is mandatory for all officers attending the standard response driving course, and officers can complete this package as many times as they feel is required, via a refresher.

119. Many local policing officers report they are being deployed to fast road loci on an ever-increasing basis. They consider the available equipment, vehicles and training to be insufficient and ineffective in preparing them for adopting safe working practices in such hazardous environments. Officers suggested no amount of classroom training could replace in-person, practical training with instruction and demonstration of the various procedures.

120. We consider that Police Scotland should not focus on the minimum standard of safety for policing fast roads, but should ensure the health and safety of its officers by utilising better equipped and trained road policing officers on the fast road network. On those occasions where road policing officers are not available, only local policing officers who are properly trained and equipped should be deployed.

121. Officers and staff we spoke to within C3 shared the common opinion that local policing officers were poorly equipped, trained and lacked the confidence to safely manage incidents on the fast road network. This view was shared by local policing sergeants we spoke to, who felt the benefits to officer safety would be matched by improvement in overall standards of investigation if direct practical training was provided by experienced road policing officers.

122. During our inspection it became apparent that the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has, on multiple occasions during regularly scheduled road policing forums, expressed concerns about the significant reductions in Police Scotland’s road policing capability since the creation of Police Scotland, which has meant that more non-specialist local policing officers are being deployed to operational incidents on the fast road network without what they considered to be appropriate or sufficient training or related equipment.

123. Road Policing Division recognises and supports its officers through a range of different approaches. The recently-developed ‘My-Career’ personal development framework encourages all line managers to complete discussions ahead of defined deadlines and to engage in open and honest conversations with officers about their readiness for promotion or development. The Competency Values Framework is used at every level.

124. We were told that 135 officers within Road Policing Division (i.e. around 27 per cent) did not commence a My Career form in 2022/23. This outcome was attributed to various factors including long-term absence and failure to complete on time.

125. Road Policing Division stated that it provides officers with mentoring and support in the application for promotion process. It uses the services of a ‘Mentoring Single Point Of Contact’, as well as facilitating online workshops by officers with significant experience of the promotion process (giving officers access to advice and the opportunity to ask questions about what is expected during the promotion process).

126. The division actively supports internal development and seeks to ‘promote from within’ (due to the level of specialist experience and competence available within the departmental workforce). Officers with suitable experience are also encouraged to apply to the OSD ‘temporary promotion pool’, which enables exposure to other departments and disciplines, broadening knowledge and appreciation of other roles within the division.

127. Road Policing Division is committed to learn from staff exiting the department. We learned that Police Scotland has an exit interview document that is used for officers transferring from road policing, with questions including the following:

• reason for leaving
• reason for joining road policing
• training questions, including recommendations to improve training.
• culture – positive or negative environment
• could road policing do better for staff
• would staff consider returning.

128. We found that officers and staff in road policing are very committed to their roles, although many still feel undervalued as a consequence of a perceived lack of organisational recognition in the roles they perform. We also heard about dissatisfaction regarding wider career development opportunities for road policing officers, beyond the skills required to carry out their specialist roles.

129. We also discovered a lack of desire to undertake specialist training such as collision investigation training, on the grounds that this once full-time role is no longer dedicated and protected from wider road policing operational demands. Given that the post is no longer ring-fenced, less people are attracted to apply for this role, therefore there is now a shortage and road policing officers are having to pick up those duties in addition to their normal workloads.

Demand

130. Our 2014 inspection of road policing in Scotland, and subsequent review in December 2015, identified that there were insufficient resources on road policing late and night shifts. There were also additional resourcing challenges surrounding senior investigation cover in the east of the country.

131. A structure review began in autumn 2016 and concluded in 2017, with several key findings and recommendations for further action. Following this review there have been several changes to road policing shift patterns, the last of which was introduced in 2022.

132. Scotland has stricter drink driving laws than elsewhere in the United Kingdom, but 2006 research on the effectiveness of reducing illegal blood alcohol concentration (Fell, J.C. and Voas, R.B.) tells us that stricter legislation only leads to a reduction in offences when and if it is properly enforced.

133. Officers informed us that the significant reductions in road policing staffing levels since the creation of Police Scotland has had an adverse impact on their ability to perform their role. We heard a lot of frustration from officers about the reductions in officer numbers.

134. We heard about the inability of road policing officers to perform key tasks, such as pursuing vehicles involved in criminality and road crime, due to insufficient resource levels. In addition, it is common for road policing officers to be unable to perform proactive intelligence-led patrols, despite this being a commitment in Road Policing Division’s Annual Delivery Plan.

135. A new and concerning area of demand, highlighted to us, relates to the antisocial and dangerous use of off road and electric bikes being used throughout the country. Many officers we spoke to felt that they were unable to tackle their use, due to a lack of guidance and direction from Police Scotland. Many felt the risks associated in attempting to stop the riders was high, and there was an apparent fear of the consequences should something go wrong when attempting to do so.

136. The procurement and use of SelectaDNA (a DNA-based product that marks and protects property) to assist police officers identify users of off-road motorbikes and electric bikes was found to be innovative, but appears underused and under-assessed. The programme was introduced on a pilot basis in the north east of Scotland during 2023, but in interviews, we found very little awareness of the system either being equipped or utilised. Those we spoke to were unable to say whether the system had ever been used anywhere in Police Scotland.

Road safety

137. We found that road safety is seen as a matter of priority for local communities across Scotland and features in almost all local policing plans. Police Scotland has clear established road safety priorities at the local policing level, which are aligned to national road policing priorities. (We also found that the level of engagement and collaboration between local and road policing varies greatly in quality and effectiveness across Scotland.)

138. Limited time and resources means local policing officers are unable to act proactively on road safety, disadvantaging the communities of Scotland, and undermining officers’ proficiency. We heard from some officers that they had become largely de-skilled in road policing duties.

Court attendance

139. A significant concern we heard about during our inspection was the impact of road policing officers’ attendance at court, and its detrimental effect on the ability of Police Scotland to keep people safe on the roads. Court attendance is an important part of an officer’s role in bringing those who cause (or risk) harm to justice, but a combination of increased attendance and fewer resources has affected officers’ ability to perform road patrol duties, with a knock-on effect on their general wellbeing.

140. Unfortunately, it has also become common for officers to learn on the day of a court case that the case has been cancelled at an earlier date. Road policing officers receive citations to attend courts throughout Scotland and there is no central corporate function to manage the administration of citations, which is additional work for an already-challenged workforce.

141. During our inspection, we found good evidence of remote evidence provision being used in other sectors of the criminal justice business area.

142. Due to variations in shift patterns and on-call arrangements, we heard that the north of Scotland is often under-resourced, particularly during nightshift hours.

Abnormal loads

143. We found that the demand from escorting abnormal loads is affecting Police Scotland’s ability to keep people safe on Scotland’s roads. Police Scotland is the only UK police force that still performs this role. National Highways performs this function in England and Wales.

144. We learned that escorts of less than one hour are supported by Police Scotland without charge to the haulier, with escorts over an hour charged to the haulier. We also heard it was commonplace for road policing officers to work on rest days to perform abnormal load escort duties. This is inefficient and affects officers’ rest days, and because not all road policing officers are qualified to perform this task, this has a further impact on those officers who are qualified.

145. We found the Police Scotland system of processing abnormal load information to be both inefficient and administratively burdensome. A business case was submitted in 2016, proposing the introduction of an electronic management system, but this has not been progressed further. At a time when all Scottish policing resources have been significantly reduced, alongside an increase in deaths and serious injuries on Scotland’s roads, continuing to dedicate highly-trained and equipped police officers to routinely support the private haulage industry is untenable.

Performance management

146. Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 highlights that enforcement and prevention are essential parts of the Safe System. A report by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) found evidence that drivers are more willing to comply with the rules if they feel that they are otherwise likely to be caught and punished. It therefore recommends that police controls should be ‘sufficiently publicized, regular and long term, unpredictable and difficult to avoid, and combine both highly visible and less visible activities.’

147. During our inspection we found that there is a lack of performance management information on the levels of enforcement and prevention activity in Police Scotland. There seems to be limited data on how effectively the organisation is contributing towards the challenging targets outlined in Scotland’s Road Safety Framework. When conducting our inspection, we found data relative to each campaign, but we struggled to get an overview of all activity that had taken place.

148. Performance reports submitted to the SPA Policing Performance Committee contain information relating to the number of people killed and seriously injured, as well as data relating to specific campaigns that have been carried out. An overview of all enforcement and prevention activity, with a specific focus on the fatal five offences, would provide a more meaningful indication of progress towards the targets outlined in Scotland’s Road Safety Framework.

149. Given the importance of enforcement and prevention, Police Scotland should seek to better understand the level of police activity by specialist road policing officers and by local policing officers.

Drug driving

150. We learned that Police Scotland has evidence to suggest that drug driving has become a significant threat and risk to road users across Scotland. However, we also found that Police Scotland is unable to tackle drug driving effectively, due to a lack of trained resources and forensic services capacity. Police Scotland has taken a policy decision to restrict the use of roadside drug testing kits to road policing officers and a limited number of local policing officers on some of Scotland’s larger islands (due to the difficulty in maintaining geographical cover from road policing at those locations). This reduction in road policing resources has only exacerbated the risk.

151. We believe that Police Scotland needs to ascertain the current and future drug driving problem in Scotland. This is crucial in order to allow Police Scotland to consider current and future capability and the preventative efforts required. Police Scotland must consider how to incrementally increase drug driving enforcement to local policing teams, which by scale and nature impacts on communities.

152. We conducted an Assurance Review of Scottish Police Authority Forensic Toxicology Provision in 2022. This followed the disclosure that 384 (later rising to 447) drug driving cases had been marked as 'no proceedings' by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). This review was published in April 2023. We made 25 recommendations for improvement, highlighting a number of key areas, including strategy, planning, process, management, reporting, scrutiny and prevention in relation to drugs driving. There were also 17 areas of development and since we published our report, significant progress has been made. The SPA should, however, continue to work with Police Scotland and should ensure there is forensic services capacity for a potential incremental increase in drug driving cases.

Equipment

153. Police Scotland has not maintained its fleet of safety camera vans, which has at times reduced its ability to fully deploy that resource. Some road policing vehicles are fitted with ANPR and speed detection equipment, while some are not.

154. We heard from road policing officers that it would be beneficial if all vehicles had standard equipment fitted. We also heard that all police vehicles should have front-facing dash-cams and that road policing vehicles should have front and rear facing dashcams.

155. We found that road policing was committed to the health and safety of staff and ensuring vehicles are safe to use. However, we also found that road policing vehicles are not equipped in a uniform and coherent manner and that the views of the officers using the equipment are not taken into account. In addition, we found that the road safety equipment fitted to, and available in, local policing vehicles is inconsistent and often insufficient.

156. We found most road policing officers to be thorough and professional in completing vehicle and equipment checks, whereas local policing officers are not dedicating the time to complete such checks as regularly as required.

157. The complex nature of road policing requires officers to have a variety of clothing and equipment, depending on need. This may include requests for riding motorcycles or working in adverse weather conditions. We were pleased to discover that Police Scotland has a formal process relating to clothing and equipment, allowing officers to report matters for decision, approval or information.

Recommendation 8

Police Scotland should implement a process to ensure vehicles are equipped in a consistent manner. The views of officers who will be using the vehicles should be taken into account when considering the type of equipment to be fitted, and how and where it is fitted.

Partnership working

158. We found that Police Scotland has well-established and effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders in relation to road policing. The partner organisations that we spoke with were extremely positive about the collaborative arrangements that they have with the road policing team in Police Scotland.

159. While all partners were very positive about the relationships with Road Policing Division, many expressed the view that road safety sat low in terms of Police Scotland’s wider priorities and most felt that it should be given higher priority. Many cited the number of people being killed and seriously injured on our roads as a simple and obvious prompt that greater attention is required. Most felt that too many people were still dying unnecessarily and avoidably, and that there was a permissive and resigned attitude to road deaths and serious collisions across society.

160. Regular meetings such as the Tactical Options Working Group (with partners) and the Road Safety Governance Board (internal) are both good examples of well-established partnership arrangements, where the views and expertise of partners are brought together in a positive and open manner to inform and support each other.

161. During our inspection, we found good evidence of practical engagement with stakeholders. The priorities of these stakeholders was discussed at strategic, tactical and operational levels, and we found a number of examples found of productive joint working to tackle identified priorities. This included a pilot project in N Division ( Highlands and Islands) dealing with issues relating to HGV vehicles, which has provided positive results.

162. We attended a collision demonstration event involving Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Scottish Ambulance Service. This public engagement event involved a demonstration of the emergency services response to a collision. Stalls providing leaflets and road safety advice were supported by other organisations, including the local authority. The event, which was held in the Tayside area (adjacent to the A9), was held after a sustained period of action aimed to improve driver behaviour in an area where there have been a high number of fatal road traffic collisions (18 deaths in 2023 and 8 deaths year to date in 2024). We found this event to be a positive example of partners working together to engage with the public on road safety matters.

Picture 1 – Collision demonstration event

163. The relationship between Police Scotland and Transport Scotland is very well established and considered positive and worthwhile on both sides. Police Scotland engages with Transport Scotland on many matters and has aligned its road policing priorities with that of Transport Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030. Interviews with key personnel from both organisations highlighted the positive nature of the partnership working arrangements. This is to be commended.

164. Police Scotland has dedicated one inspector, one sergeant, and three constables as liaison officers within Transport Scotland. This arrangement, whereby officers are embedded in the Transport Scotland control centre and trained to work in partnership with Transport Scotland officers and contracted agencies, ensures each agency has a good understanding of their respective roles. We found that these roles have contributed positively towards partnership working. Such commitment enables good flows of information and has fostered collaborative working and joint understanding. This has been of particular benefit during extreme weather events in Scotland.

165. While we did hear of some good relationships and positive examples of joint working between local policing and Road Policing Division, we also found that the level of engagement and collaboration between local policing and Road Policing Division varied in quality and effectiveness in different parts of the country.

166. While some told us about Road Policing Division assisting local resources when they could, this was often because of strong personal relationships between operational staff in road and local policing teams, rather than organisational structures or arrangements. Others referenced the relationship as ineffective and inefficient, with Road Policing Division addressing national issues as its priority and providing limited assistance on local road safety or road crime issues. A causal factor that was evident in some areas was a lack of understanding of roles, coupled with silo working (road policing resources are often based geographically remotely to local policing, although within the same office complexes).

167. We also found a mixed picture of involvement in local and specific road policing meetings. Although Police Scotland has clearly established road safety and road crime priorities at local divisional level, which are aligned to national road policing strategic priorities, this did not always translate into attendance at key meetings. We found limited evidence of local policing being invited to road policing local or national meetings.

168. Road Policing Division assign an inspector to cover each local policing division geographically who acts as a conduit between the local division and Road Policing Division. It should be noted that each local policing division has a dedicated inspector, with the exception of Greater Glasgow and Renfrewshire and Inverclyde who share an inspector. This officer attends local divisional management meetings, however, we found that their engagement with the local policing division could be more regular and that daily engagement on local issues would be beneficial. The lack of regular communication and engagement may contribute to the lack of understanding that we saw in the tasking process (in terms of how local policing could access road policing resource).

169. We found a similar lack of consistency in the effectiveness of the relationship between Road Policing Division and the C3 function in Police Scotland, with variance in the quality and effectiveness in different parts of the country.

170. While we found some evidence of positive relationships and meeting attendance, this was limited. Many people that we spoke to acknowledged this needed to improve and encouragingly, we found examples of a desire to do this, including plans in the east of Scotland to have joint training between area control room and road policing staff.

171. We consider that there is some misunderstanding of road policing roles: C3 staff believe that road policing resources are often ‘ring-fenced’ for other roles (or that roading police are ring-fencing themselves) – resulting in their either not responding, or being slow to accept, respond or attend calls from C3 staff.

172. We found uncertainty about the types of calls that both road and local policing officers were being asked to attend. Many interviewees told us about instances where road policing officers were sent to attend minor, no injury collisions (sometime a long way away), while local policing officers were sent to calls on the fast road network, simply because they were closer than road policing resources. Local policing officers were also sent to calls where the expertise and capability of road policing officers was needed. This confusion seems to have lead to some distrust and resentment between local and road policing officers, and both felt the issue lay with C3 staff, who wanted to ‘clear their screens’ as quickly as possible, rather than prioritise and task calls better and more efficiently.

173. In some of the divisions we visited, we found that road policing resources appeared isolated from the priorities and concerns of the local policing areas in which they were based. This apparent disconnect does not foster the best relationship between local and road policing functions.

Safety Camera Unit

174. Police Scotland’s Safety Camera Unit (SCU) was formerly the Scottish Safety Camera Partnership and was managed by Transport Scotland. We learned that Police Scotland is also responsible for reviewing applications for new sites and reviewing site effectiveness. It consults with road users on the effectiveness of safety cameras, with the aim of using them to reduce casualties on Scotland’s roads by targeted camera enforcement and improved driver behaviour. Cameras are sited in the areas most in need (in terms of road casualty reduction), and are deployed where they will have the greatest casualty and collision reduction potential.

Picture 2 – Site selection process

175. Year-on-year funding is provided by Transport Scotland through the Scottish Safety Camera Programme, which funds the entire SCU. We heard there is a need to improve the manner in which this important resource is managed and deployed. The staff of the SCU appeared uncertain about whether they worked for Police Scotland or Transport Scotland. They felt themselves to be in a difficult position between ‘two masters’, with Transport Scotland providing annual funding for the SCU and setting operational guidelines to control the unit’s daily activity.

176. The relationship between the SCU and local policing divisions was found to be poor. Few local policing officers we spoke to understood the workings of the SCU and there appeared to be no communication between the SCU and the local policing divisions (as to where and why resources were deployed). We would expect the SCU – both as a specialist and dedicated unit within the wider Road Policing Division and a resource of Police Scotland – to be deployed to locations of greatest concern, as an additional tool to improve road safety issues.

Brake

177. Brake is a national road safety charity. It was set up in 1995, with a remit to prevent deaths, serious injuries and pollution on roads, and to care for families bereaved and injured in road crashes through its National Road Victim Service. In 2023, the National Road Victim Service supported 152 individuals in Scotland who had been bereaved, had suffered life-changing injuries or had witnessed a fatal or serious road collision.

178. In 2022, only 20 per cent of families bereaved by road death in Scotland were given support by the National Road Victim Service; this increased to 62 per cent in 2023. In 2022, 17 per cent of the referrals in Scotland came from police officers; this had increased to 51 per cent by September 2024. This compares with a UK average of 65 per cent.

179. We established that the relationship between Brake and Police Scotland is good, and the establishment of points of contact has been positive. However, officers who have first contact with road victims come from different units and teams (rather than being exclusively family liaison officers) and this has presented logistical challenges in terms of providing appropriate training.

180. We also heard that data protection and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) issues had slowed down the referral process from Police Scotland to the National Road Victim Service, and that it had taken around two years to initiate a data protection agreement (and then two months to finalise it). This affected victims accessing support.

181. Referrals are now made to the National Road Victim Service by Police Scotland in the body of an email sent to a secure account. Brake reports that the quality of information received is generally good, but that using a referral form would reduce the margin for error, while providing a useful structure and process for busy operational officers.

182. We also heard about the referral mechanism adopted by Kent Police – seen by Brake as the strongest example of partnership working – where a six month pilot of “consent based, opt out” (whereby in fatal collisions the family are asked if they would like a referral made to access support from the National Road Victim Service) saw referrals of road victims increase by 160 per cent. As of June 2024, over 80 per cent of road victims in Kent agreed to their details being shared with the National Road Victim Service, so they can be contacted by one of their caseworkers. This approach is considered to give road victims the best possible chance of accessing support.

Technology

183. Given the reduction in the number of officers in road policing across Scotland, the use of technology to focus on road safety and road crime is more important than ever. We visited West Midlands Police and were very impressed by the manner in which technology is used, particularly ANPR.

184. ANPR technology is used by police forces throughout the UK to help detect, deter and disrupt criminal activity at local, force, regional and national levels. This includes travelling criminals, organised crime groups and terrorists. As a vehicle passes an ANPR camera (fixed or mobile), its registration number is read and automatically checked against database records of vehicles of interest. This information can then be passed to officers on patrol by the control room.

185. ANPR has proved to be important in the detection of many offences, including locating people wanted for arrest, stolen vehicles and uninsured vehicles, and uncovering cases of major crime. It has also proved to be successful in locating missing persons and people who are vulnerable.

186. West Midlands Police has over 300 fixed sites across its force area, and each motorway patrol car is fitted with ANPR technology. The cameras provide great sources of data and intelligence for the police and for partner organisations.

187. Police Scotland has very few ANPR cameras when compared with other parts of the UK. We also found that very few officers in road policing are trained in its use. We heard that the department responsible for supporting this technology in Police Scotland is very under-resourced when compared with other UK forces. Experienced road policing officers we spoke to expressed frustration regarding this technology not being used to best effect.

Operation Snap

188. Operation Snap is an award-winning initiative by GoSafe Wales (the Welsh equivalent of the Scottish Safety Camera Programme). It enables the public to submit video and photographic evidence relating to driving offences that they have witnessed, to the police for their use. Since late 2016, there has been an increase in detection rates without significant extra enforcement costs, and the public has reacted positively to this initiative, often viewed as a form of community policing.

Picture 3 – Operation snap logo

189. In its 2020 thematic inspection of road policing, HMICFRS recommended that all forces provide ‘efficient and effective’ systems whereby the public could submit journey-cam footage for police consideration. All English and Welsh police forces now provide the public with the ability to report road traffic offences by directly uploading footage to the police. Police Scotland is the only UK police force that does not allow the public to do this.

190. We were informed that Police Scotland has been considering the introduction of a national dashcam safety portal for some time, and that the introduction of Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) will provide an opportunity for the public to upload footage. However, we also understand that this will only be accessible once the incident has been reported to the police control room, who will then send the person reporting the incident a link to upload footage.

191. While this would be a step in the right direction, we see the requirement to phone the police before being able to upload footage as an unnecessary additional step that doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity to:

• make it easier for the public to report road traffic offences (thereby improving public engagement on road safety matters);
• reduce demand on the police control room;
• expand the scope for enforcement by essentially enabling members of the public to become the ‘eyes’ of the police; and
• positively influence and change driver behaviour by increasing the likelihood of being caught.

192. As highlighted earlier in this report, there is strong academic evidence to demonstrate that drivers are more willing to comply with the rules if they feel that they are otherwise likely to be caught and punished. We believe that Police Scotland should do everything it can to improve engagement with the public on road safety matters, particularly at a time of shrinking resources.

193. Partner organisations we engaged with were very much of the view that a facility to allow the public to directly upload footage to police should be progressed in Scotland and that it would go a long way towards making roads safer. We strongly believe that Police Scotland should progress the facility for members of the public to report road traffic offences by directly uploading journey-cam footage. This includes dashcam from vehicles, as well as from a broader range of people, including vulnerable road users such as cyclists, equestrians, motorcyclists and pedestrians.

Analysis of data

194. It is important that Police Scotland makes evidenced-based decisions, by using data to place the most appropriate officers in the right places at the right times. This will improve both effectiveness and efficiency. While we heard that there was regular high-level analysis of road safety data, we found limited use of operationally-focused intelligence and analysis to support officers.

195. As part of this inspection, we visited West Midlands Police, which serves around 2.8 million people over 348 square miles. We found it maintained around 14 dedicated intelligence/analytical/ANPR staff to support roads and local policing teams on road safety and road crime matters.

196. By way of comparison, Police Scotland serves around 5.5 million people over 28,168 square miles and its wider OSD – of which road policing is a part – maintains three analysts, of which one has a (non-dedicated) focus on road safety. Its intelligence function dedicates around eight staff to the wider OSD portfolio, but with limited focus on road safety or road crime matters in comparison with other crime types. Additionally, as of September 2024, Police Scotland now have a dedicated OSD analyst who is focused on road safety and road crime, conduction analysis to support objectives of the Road Safety Framework.

197. We also noted little to no engagement with other UK forces and little engagement between the road policing analytical/intelligence staff and local policing divisions on road safety or road crime.

198. There is a high demand for both OSD’s analytical staff and those dedicated to OSD and Road Policing Division from its intelligence function, but this is focused at a strategic level towards road safety matters only. Road crime-related issues seem to be addressed infrequently, with an apparent disconnect between intelligence and analytical products developed for road safety and road crime. This is despite their apparent importance to Police Scotland, and road safety being a priority for most Scottish communities.

199. Police Scotland is undergoing a National Review of Tasking and Coordinating. We found that, in general, road policing officers are clear about their role and daily focus in tackling road safety issues, but that local policing officers – whilst not discouraged from tackling road safety issues – were not encouraged or directed towards it. We found that intelligence, analytical and tasking and coordinating work on road safety and road crime could be significantly improved.