Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

There is no single and specific retention period for road traffic offence data held by Police Scotland. Retention depends on the type of offence and the policing purpose. Police Scotland applies their formal Records Retention Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), with crime and offence records retained according to risk-based retention rules.

The deployment of resources is a matter for the Chief Constable based on operational priorities.

Any assessment made for the potential for Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology (ANPR) to be combined with biometric enabled technology and/or artificial intelligence would be an operational matter for the owner of such technology.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information .

The Scottish Safety Camera Programme is a partnership between Transport Scotland and Police Scotland and deploys automated road traffic offence cameras which use ANPR technology only once a speed or red traffic light offence has been detected. These cameras are procured by Transport Scotland for use solely by Police Scotland and cannot be used for any purpose other than automated road traffic offence detection. There are currently 119 fixed camera locations, 18 temporary average speed cameras and 132 average speed cameras across Scotland.

The deployment of resources is a matter for the Chief Constable based on operational priorities. This is also very clearly set out in the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012.

The consideration to use data acquired by Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology in combination with facial recognition and other biometric technologies would be an operational matter for Police Scotland, under the scrutiny of the Scottish Police Authority.

Consideration of changes to the Lord Advocate’s roles engages significant issues relating to prosecutorial independence, ministerial accountability, the rule of law and the effective operation of government. Given the legal and constitutional implications it is appropriate that our approach is considered carefully and thoroughly, and Ministers are giving it active consideration.

The Scottish Government and relevant agencies have issued a response to the Committee and this is available on their website: https://rm.coe.int/48802c60f5.

We have already taken a number of decisive steps to help alleviate populational pressures and optimise the capacity of the existing prison estate. On 25 June, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced: Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population: Justice Secretary's speech - gov.scot the launch of a consultation: Prison population and penal reform - working towards a sustainable prison population: consultation - gov.scot that seeks views on a set of proposed reforms to the criminal justice system in Scotland, building on the recommendations of the Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission, Scottish Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission report: Justice That Works - gov.scot that will help to deliver a lasting and sustainable approach.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01338 on 10 July 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.