SPA: Police Scotland ‘way behind the curve’ on technology

Martyn Evans, chair of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), has said Police Scotland is “behind the curve on technology”.

Speaking at the International Law Enforcement in a Digital Age event, held by Holyrood Events to coincide with the INTERPOL general assembly in Glasgow, Evans said that while we’re world-leading in DNA, Scotland’s use of digital technology for evidence gathering is behind that of other countries.

On the use of body-worn cameras, he said: “All the evidence is it reduces complaints against police by 20 per cent and reduces assaults on police by about 20 per cent and also results in early guilty pleas when its use is available, so not having it actually puts more people through trauma, including police officers, and it actually clogs up to the courts.”

Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Brian Plastow added that it was a “national embarrassment” that body-worn cameras have not been widely deployed north of the border.

He added that while biometric data is used across the criminal justice ecosystem in Scotland, there is a lack of holistic oversight.

Kate Wallace, chief executive of Victim Support Scotland pointed out that the better use of technology could make it easier for victims: “We support people who are traumatised by the impact of crime, but we also support a lot of people who are traumatised by the impact of the system.”

She added: “We are extremely frustrated at the lack of progress, I think it's fair to say, compared with other countries.”

Richard Jones, senior lecturer in criminology at the University of Edinburgh, urged for more transparency in decision-making to encourage a faster of adoption of technology.

He said: “I think that we're all frustrated that some of the things which seem sensible to do are not done and they're not done quicker. I don't know what the root of that is. I think there's a cultural dimension to it and, in many ways, having stable organisations, institutions, that do the same thing year after year is a good thing. But, of course, when there is room for improvement it's very disappointing that that's not there.

“I think there's a risk averseness in places. I think there's a fear that the project's going to go wrong, it's going to hurt someone's career. So, I think we maybe need to look better at what are the incentives and disincentives of doing things. I think there's a kind of lack of transparency in decision-making sometimes, and I think that that could be better.”