A Scottish police watchdog has revealed the existence of controversial road detection targets in the same report that confirmed they have been axed.
The “thematic inspection of road policing” from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS) revealed a staggering 19% rise in detected roads offences during the first nine months of Police Scotland.
A 37% increase in speeding detections was included in that figure, immediately raising concerns that officers have been focusing on soft targets to reach pressurised personal objectives.
However, the same document uncovered proposals contained in the Police Scotland Road Policing Framework to 2016, which states that “enforcement targets for road policing” would be discontinued in 2014/15.
HMICS made six recommendations to the force and the Scottish Police Authority including advising there should be a close look at how “target setting and performance management processes drive operational behaviours”.
The inspectors also made clear they will be interested to see what the “practical effect” of removing enforcement targets will be and whether officers will be able to maintain the “substantially increased” baseline detection levels recorded in Police Scotland’s first financial year.
Despite the concerns, the overall assessment from HMICS was that local services have been protected and are improving, and that the new road policing model is “strengthening the connection between police services and communities”.
For more on this story see The Courier or try our digital edition.