Staff association general secretary says lessons can be taken on board as single force becomes a reality north of the border

Scotland can learn valuable lessons from colleagues in Northern Ireland as plans for a single force north of the border continue to move forward apace, according to senior staff association officials.

In an interview with this website, Scottish Police Federation General Secretary Calum Steele said he was keen to see how colleagues in the PSNI operated under one structure as Scotland prepared for a similar model in April next year.

¬Given that the PSNI is a single force, there is a lot of learning for us to take away – Scotland is going to have one force in April.¬

He went on to point out that his staff association would also need to reorganise itself in the wake of the restructuring, preparations for which are well underway.

Mr Steele was speaking as he attended the Police Federation for Northern Ireland annual conference in Belfast, which saw guests including the province’s Justice Minister David Ford and Deputy Chief Constable Judith Gillespie attending.

He told PoliceOracle.com: “Given that the PSNI is a single force, there is a lot of learning for us to take away – Scotland is going to have one force in April.

“Clearly restructuring also demands a reorganisation of the Scottish Police Federation.” Mr Steele said he would speak further on this when the process advanced.

The General Secretary also admitted some surprise that the government in Westminster had ruled out compulsory mergers given the severity of the financial situation.

He added: “If you had asked 143,000 offices whether they would rather have reorganisation or have their pay and conditions attacked, they would choose reorganisation.

“They would first want wastage to be tackled before any cuts are made…but the political powers (in Westminster) are not prepared to look at reorganisation.”

Mr Steele said that officers in Scotland felt that they had the backing of both the Scottish government and parliament – in contrast with colleagues in England and Wales.

There was a “huge difference” in the language used by politicians to describe public services north of the border compared with Westminster, he added.