Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27231 by Angela Constance on 13 May 2024, whether it will provide the information requested regarding whether it has sought from (a) the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and (b) Police Scotland a full list of criminal offences that can be disposed of by way of a Recorded Police Warning, and for what reason it did not provide this information in its answer.
The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 stipulates that the Chief Constable of Police Scotland is responsible for the policing of Scotland and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly.
Decisions about when to issue Recorded Police Warning’s (RPWs) are an independent operational matter for Police Scotland and the offence types covered by Recorded Police Warnings (RPWs) are a matter for the Lord Advocate as part of her independent role as head of Scotland’s system of prosecution. Police Scotland's Direct Measures Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) sets out a standard and instruction where an officer dealing with an incident may issue a RPW, where he or she has reason to believe that the person has committed one of the relevant offences and meets the necessary criteria.
As such, the Scottish Government has not sought a full list of criminal offences that can be disposed of by way of a RPW from (a) the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service or (b) Police Scotland.