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The delivery of community policing in Scotland is inconsistent, according to a Report from the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee. Publishing the report of its Inquiry into Community Policing, the committee concludes that despite good work being done in Scotland, the majority of Scottish police forces do not have clear community policing strategies.

Committee Convener Bill Aitken MSP said:

"In the course of this inquiry the committee encountered many good examples of effective policing in communities in Scotland. However, it also found that the experience of community policing was not universally positive.

"The committee has set out its vision to demonstrate how it believes community policing could be improved and made more consistent without losing local flexibility. As part of this vision the committee recommends that community police officers are in post for at least two years and are not regularly called away from their duties to support other police operations."

The committee makes further observations on -

* Additional police numbers committed by the Scottish Government to enhance delivery of community policing.

* The Scottish Government's approach to community policing and whether this could be more effective.

Background
Following the conclusion of the Committee's Inquiry into the Effective Use of Police Resources in January 2008, the committee agreed to undertake specific consideration of community policing.

The initial remit for the inquiry was-
"To review the purpose and effectiveness of community policing in Scotland including consideration of the definition of community policing and the resources currently available for community policing."

The Committee began work on the inquiry with a series of fact-finding visits to Dundee, the Borders and Lanarkshire in April and May, before taking oral evidence in May and June. Further information on the inquiry, including its remit, can be viewed on the Committee's web pages:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/justice/PoliceResourcesHomepage.htm

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