Call for new body to oversee policing

A COMMISSION to scrutinise Scotland’s new single police force should be created amid fears that the justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, could be handed too much power.

Labour MSP Graeme Pearson, a former head of Scotland’s crime fighting agency, is drafting amendments to the legislation that will merge the eight police areas to make the resulting force more democratically accountable.

Pearson claims that, under the SNP’s plans, the service will be overseen by a police authority largely chosen by the minister, with a convener and chief constable reporting – via civil servants – to the minister. “Whether it was any party with such a majority in the Scottish Parliament, I would be concerned about that amount of power being handed to one justice secretary,” he said yesterday.

“This is not a political issue. When you look at the FBI, the director of the FBI reports to the [US] Senate. He is brought in to account for himself and to justify what the organisation is spending.

“It would be a group of MSPs, who would, hopefully, act in an apolitical fashion to ensure the good health of the police in Scotland. They would look at administration and management, rather than look at on the streets policing.”

The Scottish Government has said it will look at any amendments with interest and will consider them thoroughly before coming to a decision.

A government spokesman added: “The Chief Constable will be accountable to the new Scottish Police Authority, not the justice secretary or the Scottish Government.

“Our proposals already give the parliament a stronger role in policing.”