Female officers call for Police Scotland to be vetted for sexual misconduct

A new 'Police Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny Bill' has been proposed by the Scottish Government, which will ensure that allegations of sexual misconduct against police officers will be dealt with more effectively.

The new bill ensures that police officers in Scotland will no longer be able to avoid disciplinary hearings. The officers facing allegations will be placed on an advisory list, which would permit them from resigning.

The new bill also aims to strengthen public confidence in regard to the expected standards of police conduct.

If the legislation passes, then the outcome of the misconduct hearings would be published online, together with the officers who are found guilty being banned from re-employment in the criminal justice field.

Not only have there been allegations of sexual misconduct against Police Scotland Officers, but there have also been several Scotland Police Officers accused of racism and using discriminatory language in the workforce.

Sir Iain Livingstone, the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, responded to the call for the corrupt police officers to be rooted out, by saying: "These people should not be in policing, whether it's police officers or police staff."

Sir Iain Livingstone later declared that there "might be" police officers that have proven to be either sexist or racist while working in the industry.

"We are going to take a whole series of actions and activities, but the starting point is the recognition that there is a problem," he added.

In 2021, 179 new officers were welcomed into Police Scotland, and 82 of them were women.

After the influx of female employees, Sir Iain Livingstone said: "Policing in Scotland takes its authority and legitimacy from the people of Scotland, and I remain committed to doing everything I can to ensure the service represents and reflects the communities we serve."

Data from 2017 to 2022, obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats (SLD) revealed that more than 800 officers left Police Scotland before serving 10 years.

Although the Scottish Government recall that the main intention of a Police Officer is to guarantee the protection of members of the public and their property by maintaining law and order and preventing crime, Sir Iain Livingstone recognised the likelihood of other organisations having sexist/racist employees.

He said: "We are not alone in this; other organisations should look to themselves. Dare I say it, media outlets... any organisation."

The Scottish Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary, Jamie Greene, said: "The SNP (Scottish National Party) have dithered for far too long in bringing forward this bill, so the overdue publication at least represents a step in the right direction."

The Member of the Scottish Parliament also added: "Despite repeated calls from the Scottish Conservatives and victims, successive SNP justice secretaries have completely failed to fix the broken police complaints system that has occurred on their watch. Their failures to do so have let down the vast majority of good police officers and the wider public."

Margaret Gribbon, a solicitor who is representing several female former officers, recalled: "My clients say they are fighting two battles, one with Police Scotland and one with the federation."

The Scottish Police Federation represents all police officers, including those in the ranks of sergeants, constables, inspectors, chief inspectors, police cadets, and special forces.

Margaret Gribbon also represented Rhonda Malone, who is another female former police officer that has been a victim of sexual misconduct in the workforce. After being exploited by a "horrific" boys' club culture in the force, Rhonda Malone received £948,000 in damages.

After the tribunal, Margaret Gribbon stated: "My client has lost a promising police career and the tribunal heard evidence from other armed female officers who had been trained at considerable public expense but have been driven out of the firearms division because of the rampant culture of sexism."