Scotland's crisis-hit police force is looking for an "exceptional leader" to be its next chief constable.
The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has launched a recruitment campaign to find the successor to Sir Stephen House.
It comes after Sir Stephen announced he would be stepping down as chief constable of Police Scotland by the end of the year.
His departure is earlier than planned and comes after a series of high-profile incidents saw the police chief facing calls to resign.
Police Scotland came under fire following the M9 collision in July in which Lamara Bell, 25, and John Yuill, 28, died. The couple spent three days in their crashed car after a call to police was not properly logged, prompting Sir Stephen to issue an apology to the families.
The force has also faced criticism over issues such as its stop-and-search tactics, armed police and the death of 31-year-old Sheku Bayoh in custody.
SPA chair Andrew Flanagan said there would be "challenges" for whoever is appointed to the £212,280 a year job that he described as a "career-defining post".
Mr Flanagan stated: "From today, candidates to be Police Scotland's next chief constable have the opportunity to throw their hat into the ring.
"The Scottish Police Authority is seeking an exceptional leader to take forward the next phase of police service transformation in Scotland.
"With homicide rates at their lowest levels and recorded crime at a 41-year low, the new chief will have a strong platform on which to develop innovative solutions to the prevention and detection of crime.
"Of course, there are challenges too. Our police workforce has spoken recently about their experience of the new policing arrangements. There are things we need to improve.
"So, I want the new chief to develop a working environment that will inspire and energise officers and staff to deliver services in new and flexible ways, and with the active participation of local communities."
After a staff survey found a third of those in Police Scotland want to leave within the next three years, Mr Flanagan said that "those shortlisted for the job can expect to be challenged on how they would personally address the central issues within the recent workforce survey".
He added: "This is a job that is under a bright and sustained public spotlight. That comes with the territory but it brings opportunities too.
"I am looking for someone to positively use that place in the public eye. To become one of the most influential public-sector leaders in Scotland and champion the kind of partnerships that really improve outcomes for people."
The SPA expects to announce who the new chief constable will be early in December.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel