A former senior police officer who broke ranks to deliver a scathing assessment of the management of Police Scotland has been praised for her “courage” by a Perth councillor.
A past member of Tayside Joint Police Board, Alexander Stewart, said he agreed with Angela Wilson, the former assistant chief constable for the Tayside force, on her views on current policing and felt there had been a negative impact locally.
In an interview with The Courier, Ms Wilson accused Chief Constable Sir Stephen House of dictating the way policing is run in Scotland.
Mr Stewart said “It was my privilege to be a senior member of Tayside Joint Police Board for many years prior to the creation of Police Scotland.
“During my time on the board, we encouraged many projects that had a real community policing emphasis and our key watchword was accountability.
“Tayside was seen as a pioneering force that had the public at its heart and could boast of 10 years of continuous reductions in many crimes.
“We were big enough to matter but small enough to care for our communities and most importantly people knew who was making the decisions.
“Now with the creation of Police Scotland serious questions are being asked about scrutiny and governance.
“In recent months we have watched the debacle over whether to allow the police to carry weapons on routine duties, whether they should be allowed to stop and search young children and whether it is appropriate to adopt a style of policing many people argue is much more suited to somewhere like the old Strathclyde area.
“Central to all these issues is the effectiveness of our police and whether or not the decision-making process is wholly transparent and accountable.
“Well, in Perth and rural Perthshire, serious questions are now being asked.
“The community policing focus that had been so successful has been abandoned and fewer ‘bobbies’ are out on the beat.
“All the partnership working that had been so pioneering and successful was replaced with a ‘one size fits all’ approach with a top-down policy which is so out of touch with what is required.
“I would like to pay tribute to Angela Wilson for having the courage to express her candid views which have resonated with so many individuals and communities because one size does not fit all and the public are losing confidence in Police Scotland.”