SCOTLAND’s top cop says the nation’s criminal justice system is failing victims as she pledged to do everything in her power to fix it.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell told of her concerns over the length of time it takes for cases to go through court, tying up frontline cops at a cost of millions.
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In her first major interview since taking over the role in October she called for major changes to a system where different institutions “work in silos”.
And until authorities find a way to mend it, she warns public confidence in our nation’s justice system will continue to deteriorate.
She said: “The criminal justice system across Scotland in my view, in my opinion, needs significant reform.
“I currently observe, there are lots of elements to it and they very much work in silos.
“I don’t think, given the amount of time victims wait for justice or alleged perpetrators wait for their trials, it is a criminal system that is working efficiently and effectively to deliver justice for the public of Scotland.
“Where it manifest itself within policing is we spent over £3 million last year on overtime for officers who are cited to go to court.
“Conservatively only 15 percent of them gave evidence and then they were re-cited and re-cited.
“So if police officers are being called to court multiple times where trials don’t go ahead then victims and witnesses are [too].
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“So what confidence can any of us have that this is an efficient and effective system?
“I see lots of good work being done in silos but it needs to reform and it needs to be collective.
“You speak to my colleagues, that is an area that I have prioritised and I will bring all the influence I have to bear on that system.”
Ms Farrell made her feelings known as she faced the media at Glasgow’s London Road police station before she hit the city streets with frontline cops on Friday night.
She had raised eyebrows over an apparent low profile since replacing Sir Iain Livingstone to become the nation’s first female police chief.
But she was catapulted into the spotlight early in her tenure over a patrol car ‘taxi’ lift home from Edinburgh to the north of England on October 20 during Storm Babet.
The £248,724-a-year chief later apologised for that “error of judgement” and now chooses not to say anything further on the matter.
She says all her attention is focused on the countless challenges facing Scotland’s crisis-hit police force.
And the head crimebuster – who switched from Durham Constabulary, one of the UK’s smallest forces to the second largest – insists it was better to wait until now, after she’d had the chance to get to grips with the magnitude of the job, before opening her door to the press.
She said: “Clearly the scale is one of the significant changes and differences.
“I’ve spent a lot of time going out in the first seven months speaking to officers and staff and really getting a sense of the contrast between policing in Glasgow where we are at the moment – and a few weeks ago I was at Lochgilphead – and the challenges that go with rural communities.
“Fortunately people don’t need the police very often but when they do, where do those resources come from and how do we meet the needs of those communities as well as places like Glasgow.
“I’ve been hugely impressed by what I’ve seen. People have been really committed and enthusiastic. The quality of policing is of a very high standard.”
This comes against well-documented and long-standing fears over falling police numbers.
We revealed yesterday the cop headcount was 16,255 in February, according to figures obtained through freedom of information laws.
It prompted claims ministers were spinning the true total of 16,356 revealed in latest quarterly strength statistics.
The drop emerged amid mounting pressure on frontline bobbies dealing with rising crime, station closures and pressure to investigate a flood of incidents from the introduction of Nats’ anti-hate crime laws.
But Ms Farrell says they are committed to boosting recruitment with a target of 16,500 for the coming year.
She said: “We are funded this year to bring the numbers back up to 16,500 and we’re in the process of doing that.
“My focus is on making sure that the frontline of policing is as big and generous as can be.
“I don’t just mean response policing, I mean CID, I mean all the parts of policing that has direct contact with victims, witnesses and the public.
“It’s my responsibility to make sure that I have done everything I can do to support those people who are doing the core part of our business – the policing part.
“The focus this year is to maximise those frontline numbers and some of that is in relation to how we are going to do business.”
Ms Farrell described the new controversial Hate Crime laws as “right and proper to reflect a diverse society”.
But she admits the flood of complaints that followed its introduction on April 1 was a challenge.
She said: “In the early weeks there was a significant upsurge in reporting online.
“Predominantly that was anonymous reports bit obviously we needed to work through all those.
“I think we’ve now got to the new norm in terms of the level of reporting.
“A lot was made of that new legislation. It did have an impact on us in the early weeks but we had prepared for that.
“Ultimately it will be tested in the courts. Others will make judgements on whether it met the threshold or not.
“But we’ve been very clear with our officers, we’re not here to limit free speech and human rights.
“Proudly as a country we welcome people’s right to have their say.”
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “We work with Police Scotland, and the courts service who schedule trials, to have witness availability taken into account when trials are fixed.
“We also work with the police to ensure that cases are ready to proceed.
“COPFS believes effective case management has the capacity to transform the experience of witnesses in the justice system and reduce unnecessary attendance.
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“The summary case management pilot which adopts that approach, has resulted in cases being resolved more quickly with less disruptive impact on victims and witnesses.
“The interim evaluation indicated a 30% reduction in first citations in the aggregated pilot courts in comparison to the pre-pilot period.”