THE Justice Secretary has provided a vote of confidence in the leadership of the embattled Scottish police force in the wake of a series of investigations against senior officers.
Scotland's acting chief constable Iain Livingstone has brought in two temporary assistant chief constables or ACCs in a refocused and reshaped Police Scotland senior team following the suspension of Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins and other senior figures at the end of last week amid allegations of criminality and misconduct.
Mr Livingstone, deputy chief constable, is already deputising for Phil Gormley, the chief constable, who has taken leave of absence while multiple allegations of bullying are investigated by the Police Investigations Review Commission (Pirc). Mr Gormley denies the accusations.
READ MORE: Policing is local but police politics is national
Michael Matheson speaking ahead of a statement to the Scottish Parliament on policing said he welcomed the new appointments.
He added: "DCC designate Livingstone has acted quickly to review his command structure, securing the approval of the SPA to strengthen his senior team. In doing so, he stated his confidence in the leadership provided by Police Scotland’s officers and staff – at each and every level of the force, from the senior officers all the way through the organisation to the police constables serving their local communities. I wholeheartedly support this view."
Mr Matheson said the appropriate authorities "must be allowed" to investigate any allegations made against individuals "without running commentary or speculation".
And he added: “Scotland is a safer country now than a decade ago – with less crime, including lower re-offending rates and fewer incidents of violence, and stronger criminal laws in place to tackle crimes such as sex offending and human trafficking.
READ MORE: Policing is local but police politics is national
“Scotland’s unified police service has been key to much of this progress and they will continue to have the unwavering support of this Government as well as the public in continuing to serve and protect each of our communities every hour of every day in.”
DCC Livingstone moved to set out his vision in a command team update video.
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