The watchdog flags failures to report all allegations of senior officer wrongdoing to the Scottish Police Authority, including anonymous complaints, and presses for full transparency in reporting misconduct involving senior officers.

While praising thorough investigations by the professional standards department, HMICS criticizes the handling of allegations involving senior officers (assistants chief constable and above) and highlights inconsistent professional standards among some senior staff, urging all such complaints, anonymous or otherwise, be reported to the SPA.

Wellbeing support for those under investigation is inconsistent and inadequate, with calls for tailored mental health provisions and better support for personnel going through conduct processes.

An independent whistleblowing framework is identified as a critical gap, with calls for clearer awareness and reporting channels beyond internal processes.

Police Scotland acknowledges the report’s concerns about senior officer conduct but says leadership overall remains strong and emphasizes ongoing improvements in whistleblowing and the culture of reporting concerns.

The HMICS finding notes lengthy, sometimes unresolved investigations into officers that can last years, negatively affecting staff well-being and operational capacity.

The report urges explicit inclusion of suicides linked to ongoing or recent investigations in Police Scotland’s death reports to the Crown Office, and calls for tailored wellbeing support and better reporting of such deaths.

Police Scotland says it has implemented non-legislative recommendations from previous reviews and is pursuing culture assessments and workforce surveys to drive improvements in values, behavior, and reporting channels.

There are gaps in ethics and conduct training for new officers, with low awareness of whistleblowing and the lack of an independent whistleblowing investigative body identified as a critical gap.

Senior leaders are expected to model integrity, impartiality, professionalism, and accountability, but workforce concerns persist about inconsistent professional behavior at the top levels.

The force commits to ongoing improvements and will use its annual staff survey to measure progress, while acknowledging that senior officer conduct sits within a small evidence base.

The report notes 20 suicides among serving officers and staff from 2013 to 2024, with about one-fifth of those individuals under a complaint or conduct matter at the time, and it calls for treating affected families with dignity.