Asleep at the wheel: how the Scottish Police Authority responded to the Deep Dive report on sexism and misogyny in policing
Introduction
In this blog we look at how the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) responded to a damning ‘Deep Dive’ report on sexism and misogyny in Police Scotland, produced by members of an Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Independent Review Group (IRG). It is hard to overstate the starkness of the report’s content. It lays out, often in shocking detail, women police officers’ experiences of a hostile working environment and a culture of impunity.
The analysis shows that Police Scotland made members of a small SPA Oversight Group (plus some SPA staff) aware of the forthcoming Deep Dive report in early August 2024, as part of a wider discussion on the Final Report of the IRG. As far as we can tell, the Oversight Group did not draw the imminent Deep Dive to the attention of the wider SPA Board and took no further interest in obtaining a copy. Later that month, Police Scotland published the IRG Final Report on its own website, which contained a limited preview of the Deep Dive findings. On the same day, the SPA Members considered a paper that referred to the IRG Final Report, among other things, at its full Board meeting. No-one present – SPA Board Members, SPA staff, or Police Scotland executives – raised the Deep Dive findings contained in the Final Report. Indeed, it is unclear if the Final Report was ever formally circulated to all SPA Members.
We then trace the SPA’s panicked reaction after the Deep Dive report surfaced in August 2025 via a Freedom of Information response. Lastly, we look at the Authority’s defensive and questionable response to the Criminal Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament, when its actions were queried.
Instead of holding Police Scotland to account for its actions, the SPA’s handling leaves an overwhelming impression of institutional inertia, a lack of curiosity, and an overriding concern for reputation management.
To begin, we set out the background to the Independent Review Group, describe the relevant governance arrangements, and outline the reports produced by the group.
Background
A critical report on police complaints, investigations and misconduct by Dame Elish Angiolini,1 published in November 2020, provides the background to these events.
Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Independent Review Group
In response to Angiolini’s report, in May 2021 Police Scotland established a Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Human Rights Independent Review Group (IRG) to improve its outcomes in this area. The purpose of the IRG was to provide additional external and expert support on equality matters. The Group completed its work in the summer of 2024.
The Terms of Reference (2021) described the group as a ‘critical friend and partner’ to Police Scotland. It met for the first time on 25 May 2021, chaired by independent EDI consultant Robin Iffla. In June 2024 the SPA appointed the co-Vice Chair of the IRG, Chris Creegan, to its Board.
The Terms of Reference stated that the IRG would ‘provide transparency through independent reporting’ and committed that it would report findings publically. In 2023 a joint SPA and Police Scotland report on EDI outcomes reinforced this commitment:
‘The IRG will report their findings publicly and periodically through Authority meetings’.
Police Scotland & Scottish Police Authority EDI Mainstreaming & Equality Outcomes Progress Report 2021-2023
Policing Together
In 2022, Police Scotland launched the Policing Together programme to take forward its EDI activity. At the time of writing, the Executive Lead for Policing Together is Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Cat Paton. Details of the current governance structure within Police Scotland for this programme of work are here.
SPA oversight of Policing Together
In December 2023 the SPA convened a dedicated Policing Together Oversight Group. This was described by the SPA and Police Scotland as ‘recognising the importance of overseeing and scrutinising progress of this priority area.’
Terms of Reference for the Oversight Group (August 2023) show the membership at that time to be made up of five SPA Members (the SPA currently has 9 Members in total). These were Fiona McQueen (later appointed SPA Chair in February 2025), Michelle Miller (retired end of April 2024), Mary Pitcaithly (still in post) and Jane Ryder (retired end of March 2024) with Tom Halpin as Chair (still in post).
The Terms specify that meetings are attended by at least two Members (including the Chair), as well as senior Executive members from Police Scotland, the SPA Executive Team (that is, SPA staff), and SPA Forensic Services respectively. HMICS is also invited to attend regularly as an observer. Secretariat support is provided by the SPA Governance Support Team.
Meetings are minuted, although the Terms of Reference do not require publication. Meeting records are circulated to attendees. It is unclear if they are shared with Group Members who did not attend a particular meeting. Written summary reports from meetings are submitted by the Chair to the next public SPA Board meeting. These papers are publicly available (but do not include details of attendees). They appear to be the only information about its work that is shared with the Board as a whole.
The IRG reports
Neither the SPA nor Police Scotland met the commitment to publish the work of the IRG.
As detailed below, the SPA published three of the six reports/papers produced by the IRG in a straightforward way. Police Scotland quietly published a fourth, the IRG Final Report, in a way that made it more difficult to find. To the best of our knowledge the second interim report was unpublished by Police Scotland or the SPA until we recently obtained it through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request. Police Scotland did not publish the ‘Deep Dive’ report on sexism, misogyny and VAWG, which the IRG delivered in late 2024, until we asked for it via FoI. More remarkably, it did not share the text of the Deep Dive report with the SPA.
The six IRG reports that we are aware were produced are as follows:
1. Terms of reference and outcomes, 21 September 2021 (published)
The IRG presented its first report to the SPA Board on 21 September 2021. This set out the Terms of Reference and intended outcomes. As noted above, this included a commitment to transparency and publication.
2. Progress report, 29 September 2022 (published)
The IRG presented a progress report to the SPA Board on 29 September 2022. Although some work had progressed, it was not at the expected pace, mainly due to pandemic restrictions and IRG membership turnover.
3. First interim report, 23 May 2023 (published)
The SPA published the first IRG Interim Report in May 2023, as part of its advance Board meeting papers. This documented ‘scepticism and even outright fear’ among staff over raising concerns. It stated that people had been punished for doing so, and reported poor behaviour ‘in plain sight’.
At the SPA Board meeting two days later, then Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone acknowledged that the single-service was institutionally racist, sexist, and discriminatory.
4. Second interim report, submitted October 2023 (unpublished until obtained through FoI)
The IRG submitted the second Interim Report to Police Scotland in October 2023. It was also presented to the Policing Together Oversight Group. To the best of our knowledge it remains unpublished by Police Scotland and the SPA. We recently accessed a copy via Freedom of Information. It referred briefly to ongoing work on the deep dive, but provided no detail on the experiences women officers were reporting.
The report covered the response to Sir Iain Livingstone statement on discrimination, including evidence of resistance among some senior officers. It also criticised how the statement was communicated internally.
5. Final Report, 22 August 2024 (published obscurely)
The IRG Final Report was discussed by the SPA at its Board meeting on 22 August 2024. Unusually, the report itself was not made available along with the other advance meeting papers on the SPA website. Instead, Police Scotland published the report on its Policing Together web page. Police Scotland later stated this was to ‘ensure full public transparency’. In practice, it meant the report was unlikely to be located by any journalists and stakeholders not attending or following the Board meeting online (during which Tom Halpin acknowledged separate publication by Police Scotland).
Preview of Deep Dive on sexism, misogyny and VAW
The Final Report noted that two IRG members had undertaken a separate ‘Deep Dive’ on sexism, misogyny and violence against women (VAW), although this was not yet finalised. It also included what it described as a ‘very brief overview’ of the findings. These included reports of a hostile environment to women and ‘pervasive attitudes of misogyny and sexism’. Extracts are shown below.
12.19 The IRG parallel deep dive on VAWG, Sexism and Tackling Misogyny revealed… pervasive attitudes of misogyny and sexism across all areas and divisions of Police Scotland. These can contribute to a hostile environment for women who may choose to leave their careers early or to change career paths.
12.20 The deep dive also revealed ongoing discrimination (both real and perceived) and (self-) exclusion of women from promotional opportunities – particularly for women who are older, or newly married or who have children.
12.21 Respondents reported hostility towards women who achieve promotions (particularly those who are younger), with negative associations between sex/gender and ambition/professional competence and achievement.
The report stated ‘Detailed findings of our research and recommendations will be included in the [full report], which will be submitted to Police Scotland at a later date.
Several weeks after publication of the IRG Final Report, The Herald ran a front page article focusing almost exclusively on the findings contained in the Deep Dive preview, thereby drawing both the Final Report and Deep Dive report (as referenced within the Final Report) to wider attention.
6. Deep dive into sex equality and tackling misogyny and violence against women and girls (unpublished until obtained through FoI)
We accessed a copy of the unpublished Deep Dive report via Freedom of Information in August 2025. The report is marked ‘Named recipients only’. We were told that the findings are ‘now outdated’ although the report was only drafted in May 2024.
It is hard to overstate the starkness of the Deep Dive findings, which go much further than the preview in the Final Report. The authors also recognise the need to ‘do justice’ to the respondents and the ongoing nature of the issues identified.
‘Although a number of these issues were raised to the SPA board at its meeting on 31 May 2023, we feel it is important to reiterate and summarise some of them in this report. This is not to belabour the point, but rather to do justice to the women in Police Scotland who took the time to meet with us to discuss these issues, and to highlight that these issues are still present, almost a year after the latest SPA board at which a progress report was presented.’
The findings range from expectations that women will make tea and coffee, to allegations of predatory behaviour by more senior officers. The report documents inappropriate relationships with younger female officers and discrimination against women who make complaints. It includes retaliatory use of the complaints process by male officers and allegations of collusion between accused officers and more senior officers.
It reveals a culture of impunity, with male officers promoted to roles investigating VAW, despite complaints against them by female officers.
‘Women described a ‘toxic’ culture resembling a ‘boys’ club,’ with inappropriate jokes and comments, predatory behaviour by senior male officers, and an implicit understanding that women who complain face retaliation and hindered promotion prospects.’
‘Senior male officers often failed to address complaints of sexism or misogyny, and some were reported to collude with perpetrators. Inappropriate relationships between senior male officers and younger female officers were described as predatory.’
‘Promotions to inappropriate positions, such as leading VAW investigations by officers with complaints against them, were common. Female officers making formal complaints often faced retaliatory complaints against them, consuming time and resources.’
‘we repeatedly heard that perpetrators of VAW within Police Scotland are not treated as potential risks to the organisation, even following repeated complaints and concerns being raised by their colleagues, or reports to the PSD and the SPF.’
‘…we heard about officers who had amassed a number of complaints and who were ‘informally’ known as both harbouring views and behaving in ways that were sexist and misogynistic, and who continued to work and receive promotions regardless of those complaints.’
These and other findings are covered in more detail in the post below.
Timeline of SPA response to the Deep Dive report
How did the SPA respond to the Deep Dive report? We trace this below, from when it first became aware the report existed in early August 2024, through to its panicked response to a media query about the report a year later, and its more recent response to questions from the Convener of the Scottish Parliament Criminal Justice Committee.
SPA Policing Together Oversight Group, 6 August 2024
In early August 2024 ACC Paton presented a paper to the Policing Together Oversight Group titled ‘Police Scotland Response to IRG Final Report’. The paper briefly referred to the ‘deep dive’ work that the IRG had done, but noted it had ‘not yet been finalised’. It also stated that the IRG had seen ‘a clear commitment to improvement in this area’, as indicated by ‘the depth and breadth’ of Police Scotland’s internal Sex, Equality and Tackling Misogyny action plan.
‘Sex Equality and Tackling Misogyny and Violence Against Women and Girls are subject to a separate deep dive by the IRG. This has not yet been finalised however the IRG report a clear commitment to improvement in this area, which is seen by the depth and breadth of the internal [Sex Equality and Tackling Misogyny] action plan and the externally facing VAWG strategy as well as the extensive consultation in their development.’
Police Scotland Response to IRG Final Report 6 August 2024
Given the lack of published minutes we do not know which Oversight Group Members attended the meeting. It is likewise impossible to tell whether the Members present asked any questions about this part of the paper, or how much more was said by ACC Paton in discussion about the seriousness of the Deep Dive findings.
SPA Board meeting, 22 August 2024
A summary of the Policing Together Oversight Group meeting was then submitted by its Chair Tom Halpin to the next SPA Board meeting on 22 August 2024.
The summary paper referred to the Final Report of the IRG, which Police Scotland had published that day (separate to the Board papers). The summary paper for the SPA Board did not mention the Final Report’s preview of the Deep Dive. Given the unusual publishing arrangements, it is unclear whether the Final Report was seen by Members ahead of the meeting, or shared with them later, if at all.
Checking the recording of this meeting confirms that any SPA Members who were on the Policing Together Oversight Group did not draw the wider Board’s attention to the existence of the Deep Dive report (see discussion at 38: 30). Nor did Chris Creegan, who made a declaration of interest for his role as Vice-Chair of the IRG.
The Approved Board meeting minutes note that Police Scotland had published the Final Report of the IRG on its website, but make no reference to the Deep Dive report.
We do not know whether the IRG had submitted the Deep Dive report to Police Scotland by this point. If it had, material later obtained by FoI shows that Police Scotland had not shared it with the SPA.
Media query, 25 August 2025
The Deep Dive report came to light a year later, via a Freedom of Information request we made to Police Scotland.
A further Freedom of Information request shows that on 25 August The Herald approached Police Scotland and the SPA for a comment on the disclosed report. The journalist provided the SPA with a copy of the report, a summary of the key findings and asked a series of direct questions:
- How does the SPA respond to the report’s findings of predatory behaviour, collusion, and a culture of impunity around complaints? Do you know what action has been taken since May 2024 to address the 30 recommendations made by the Independent Review Group?
- How does the SPA respond to concerns that women officers are unsafe raising complaints and that complainants are being punished or sidelined?
- Given the report’s conclusion that institutional sexism and misogyny remain pervasive, what assurance can SPA provide to women – both within the service and in the wider public – that these issues are being dealt with seriously?
- Are you able to say why this report was marked “Named recipients only” and withheld from publication until it was released under FOI?
SPA response to the Herald
A senior SPA staff member quickly contacted Police Scotland via email for more information, saying ‘initial feedback suggest this [the Deep Dive] has never been seen by the Authority or been subject to any formal oversight’.
From: [SPA Senior Manager A]
Sent: 25 August 2025 14:57
To: Corp Communications News Desk
Subject: RE: IRG deep dive [OFFICIAL]
Afternoon – we’ve received the media enquiry below from the Herald about the attached report issued under FOI.
Please could you share any media lines Police Scotland has provided in response? I’m engaging with colleagues in the Authority but initial feedback suggest this has never been seen by the Authority or been subject to any formal oversight.
Police Scotland replied that it had had a similar query and was looking into it.
From: Corp Communications News Desk
Sent: 25 Aug 2025 14:59
To: [SPA Senior Manager A]
Hi ….
We received a similar enquiry. We’re looking into it and will share any response in due course.
Thanks,
Within thirty minutes of receiving the query the SPA had drafted a response to The Herald. This referred to the scrutiny role of the Policing Together Oversight Group, but avoided any comment on the report itself, which as the paper trail above shows, the group had not seen. Nor did it answer the questions asked by The Herald.
From: [SPA]
Sent: 25 Aug 2025 14:59
To: [SPA]
Subject: RE: IRG deep dive [OFFICIAL]
[Name of Police Scotland comms], we will respond from a spokesperson saying:
“There is absolutely no place for sexism or any form of discrimination in policing. The Scottish Police Authority is committed to supporting and holding Police Scotland to account in building a service that is inclusive, respectful and free from bias. The Authority’s Policing Together oversight group plays a key role in scrutinising progress and driving meaningful change towards an anti-discriminatory culture where every individual is valued.”
Further internal correspondence between SPA managers showed the extent of confusion as to the status and whereabouts of the report.
From: [SPA senior manager B]
Sent: 25 August 2025 15:48
To: [Senior manager A]
Subject: RE: IRG deep dive [OFFICIAL]
Nothing yet. Trying to understand where its been and what’s happened and what PS response is.
Will keep you posted.
Media coverage and parliamentary questions
The Herald ran the ‘buried‘ Deep Dive report as its lead story the next day (26 August), generating further media coverage (for example, BBC, Scottish Sun, Scottish Legal News).
On 18 September, Scottish Conservative MSP Tess White questioned Justice Secretary Angela Constance on the report in the Scottish Parliament. Ms Constance replied that it was for the “Scottish Police Authority to hold Police Scotland and the chief constable directly to account“.
SPA Policing Together Oversight Group, 29 August 2025
Four days later the Policing Together Oversight Group discussed the Deep Dive report, as a hastily added item to its agenda. An email from the SPA Governance Support Manager sent on the same day of the Herald report (26 August), stated:
Good evening,
The agenda and papers for the 29 August 2025 Policing Together Oversight Group have been added to SharePoint and can be accessed here…
Please note, there are 2 items on the agenda that are not supported by a report…
Item 6 – Sex Equality & Tackling Misogyny and Violence Against Women & Girls: We are expecting a paper to be shared with Members on the day, via ACC Paton sharing her screen at the meeting. This item has been added to the agenda today as a result of the attached report receiving media attention.
As later confirmed by the SPA Chair (see below), at this stage the Deep Dive report was formally circulated to Oversight Group Members. We do not know if it was formally circulated to all Board Members. We also could not find a copy of the paper shared by ACC Paton by her screen.
As before, no record of attendance or minutes are available. A summary report by the Chair Tom Halpin (prepared afterwards for the forthcoming SPA Board meeting) said the discussion ‘provided an opportunity to ascertain why this report hadn’t been published or shared with the SPA prior to it being reported in the media’. In responding to Members, ACC Paton relied on the IRG Final Report, although as noted above, this only provided a broad brush overview of the Deep Dive findings.
‘Police Scotland’s Independent Review Group Deep Dive Report into Sex Equality and Tackling Misogyny & Violence Against Women and Girls, which was published online on 26 August 2025 via an FOI request, was discussed by Members. This provided an opportunity to ascertain why this report hadn’t been published or shared with the SPA prior to it being reported in the media.
ACC Paton explained that the Final IRG Report referred to in the Policing Together Oversight Group Chair’s report to the SPA Board in August 2024, referenced this further deep dive, but it was submitted after the Final IRG Report was received. To ensure full public transparency, the Final IRG Report was published online by Police Scotland on the same day. ACC Paton emphasised the importance of transparency in the approach to Policing Together being taken by Police Scotland, from the public statement made by the then Chief Constable and throughout the ongoing work of the Policing Together programme.’
Tom Halpin, Summary report from Policing Together Oversight Group, 29 August 2025, emphases added
There is no record of any explanation given by ACC Paton for why the Deep Dive report itself was never shared with the SPA nor published by Police Scotland. It is hard to reconcile the claim about transparency made to the Group with the the obvious lack of transparency detailed above.
ACC Paton further advised Oversight Group Members that Police Scotland had mapped the thirty recommendations in the Deep Dive report to its ‘Policing Together Implementation Plan’. And that:
‘Police Scotland were comfortable that the Deep Dive report did not raise any matters that were not already being considered and/or progressed.’
Tom Halpin, Summary report from Policing Together Oversight Group, 29 August 2025
In response, the Oversight Group ‘expressed that it was unfortunate this standalone report was not shared with them sooner’ but ‘felt assured by ACC Paton’s reasonings…’.
This appeared to draw a line under the issue, albeit temporarily.
Scottish Parliament Criminal Justice Committee letter, 15 September 2025
Around two weeks later the Criminal Justice Committee Convener wrote to the SPA Chair, asking a series of detailed questions about the Deep Dive report and the Authority’s oversight.2 These included:
- What scrutiny has the SPA carried out of the work of the IRG and the ‘deep dive’ report? Did you speak to the authors and not just Police Scotland?
- Do you consider this scrutiny to have been adequate?
- What actions were therefore taken by the SPA to bring about the change called for by the IRG within Scotland?
- What steps have Police Scotland taken to make any changes and how is the SPA monitoring progress?
- Do you consider the findings of the ‘deep dive’ report to be “out of date”? If so, can you provide assurance that all the criticisms and concerns listed by the IRG have been addressed? If not, what steps are the SPA now taking to ensure that the changes called for by the IRG are being made?
- Do you have an assessment you can share with the Committee on the progress of meeting the thirty recommendations and eleven indicators for change/success in the IRG report?’
SPA Board Meeting 25 September 2025
Policing Together Update paper
Against a backdrop of mounting pressure,3 ACC Paton delivered a Policing Together update paper for consideration at the SPA Board meeting on 25 September. Acknowledging public interest in the matter, this stated that work was underway to address the recommendations in the Deep Dive report.
‘The public interest and scrutiny of this area of Police Scotland’s work rightly continues to be high. This can be seen by the recent media attention on the IRG’s deep dive into Sex Equality and Tackling Misogyny (SETM) and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). This report to the board presents an opportunity to publicly address recent reporting and update on activity being undertaken within Police Scotland…
It is important to acknowledge that the deep dive report and its 30 recommendations has, together with other feedback, shaped the work we have already delivered and have ongoing. In light of the changes in governance to incorporate [Sex Equality and Tackling Misogyny] within Policing Together reporting, we have again reviewed all 30 recommendations against our mapped and aligned Policing Together Implementation Plan.’
Police Scotland, Policing Together Update, 25 September 2025
The paper further acknowledged that its handling may have given the impression that Police Scotland was trying to hide the findings, albeit expressed in convoluted terms. The paper also reiterated the claim that Police Scotland remained committed to transparency.
Reflecting on what has emerged in recent media reporting, earlier publication of the [report] may have prevented an inference that Police Scotland was seeking to hide challenges, especially given the contextual reality (as laid out above) that Police Scotland remain committed to approaching this critical work in a way that is both engaging and transparent‘.
Police Scotland, Policing Together Update, 25 September 2025 (emphasis added)
SPA Board meeting discussion
For the most part, the Deep Dive report was skirted over at the Board meeting itself. At a early stage, Oversight Group Chair Tom Halpin appeared to draw a line under the report, stating: We discussed [Sex, Equality and Tackling Misogyny] in great depth at the Committee. We are satisfied that the actions and issues that were raised in the report have been mapped to the Policing Together Action plan and are being addressed“.
The Chief Constable acknowledged the Deep Dive report, but did not comment on it specifically. Appearing to contradict Police Scotland’s description of the findings in its FoI response to us on 19 August as ‘now outdated‘, the Chief Constable further referred to sexism, misogyny and discrimination as “long-standing challenges” and later reiterated that “cultural change doesn’t move quickly“.
‘We know policing, like all organisations and wider society, must face sexism, misogyny, racism and discrimination head-on. These are long-standing challenges which require constant vigilance, leadership and focus to safeguard our values and make further progress. The case for action has been made. This includes the [Angiolini review]… and the findings of the Independent Review Group established as part of those recommendations, including the Deep Dive report…’.’
Chief Constable Jo Farrell, 25 September 2025
In her oral presentation to the Board, ACC Paton referred to “really tough messages about our organisation and the felt experience from within our staff” and assured the Board that all sources of information (surveys, reviews etc.) had helped to create and shape Police Scotland activity in this area, including the Deep Dive report. ACC Paton stated she had met with the authors of the report and “spoke about their understanding and their appreciation of the work that we are continuing to do“.
In responding to the presentation, Oversight Group Chair Tom Halpin made no reference to the Deep Dive report, nor did any other Board Member ask questions about it.
Police Scotland Freedom of Information response, 25 September 2025
On the same day we received a Freedom of Information response from Police Scotland.
This stated that Police Scotland did not hold any information on who it had shared the Deep Dive report with. Nor could it give any specific information on which of the recommendations the single service had met.
‘The recommendations within the ‘Deep Dive into [Sex Equality and Tackling Misogyny] and VAWG‘ report align with Police Scotland’s Policing Together Strategy 2022-2026, Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2023, and the Sex Equality and Tackling Misogyny Action Plan. Recommendations are mapped and are being delivered as part of said Strategies/Plans. As such the specific information requested is not held by Police Scotland…’
Police Scotland, Freedom of Information response, 25 September 2025
SPA response to the Criminal Justice Committee, 26 September 2025
The day after the SPA Board meeting, the SPA Chair responded to the Criminal Justice Committee Convener.
The response did not directly answer the questions asked by the Convener, such as whether the SPA had spoken to the authors of the report, or if it considered its own scrutiny to be inadequate.
The letter confirmed that the report was circulated to Oversight Group Members on 29 August 2025, several days after The Herald ran its story. Surprisingly, the Chair also lent her support to Police Scotland’s claim that a report on pervasive sexism and misogyny, drafted in May 2024, was ‘now outdated’, describing the findings as ‘reflective of views gathered at the time’.
The letter stated that ‘at the time’ of the August 2024 SPA meeting ‘Members were assured by Police Scotland that the findings of the report were sufficiently considered’. But as we show above, there was no was mention of the Deep Dive report in the papers prepared for the SPA Board meeting on 22 August 2024. At most, Members may have been presented with the text of the Final Report of the IRG, including its limited preview of the Deep Dive, as a separate addition to the main meeting papers. Either way, there was no discussion of it at the meeting.
From the available records, the only SPA Members who knew for certain about the Deep Dive ‘at the time’ were those who attended the Policing Together Oversight Group meeting that month and, we assume, Chris Creegan, as Vice-Chair of the IRG. At that meeting, there may have been a discussion with ACC Paton about a report that none of the SPA Members present had seen, and which they were told was not yet finalised.
The last minute addition of the Deep Dive report to the Oversight Group meeting on 29 August 2025 appears to provide the main source of reassurance for the wider SPA. It is unclear from the Chair’s letter whether the Deep Dive report was ever formally circulated to all Board Members or if Board Members outwith the Group received minutes or any form of briefing about that meeting, beyond the published summary report by Tom Halpin.
‘The IRG’s final report was presented by Robin Iffla, Chair of the IRG and discussed in detail at a meeting of our dedicated Oversight Group on 6 August 2024. Police Scotland’s response to the final report was also presented at the same meeting, ensuring that Authority Members could simultaneously assess both the findings and the organisational response.
Both the final report and Police Scotland’s response acknowledged the work and findings of the Deep Dive report…
The Authority did not receive a copy of or consider the Deep Dive report at its meeting in August 2024, however at that time Members were assured by Police Scotland that the findings of the report were sufficiently considered, and that there are appropriate mechanisms in place to address the issues identified. This view was further reinforced at a meeting of the Oversight Group held on 29 August 2025 where the Deep Dive Report was circulated and Members confirmed they were satisfied that the 30 recommendations contained in the report had been incorporated into the Policing Together 3-year Implementation Plan. While the findings of the report were reflective of views gathered at the time, the Authority recognises the wide range of activities conducted by Police Scotland since that time and has continued to seek and gain assurance that Police Scotland remain focused on addressing those raised concerns through the Policing Together implementation plan.’
Scottish Police Authority Chair to Criminal Justice Committee Convener, 26 September 2025 (emphases added)
Conclusion
Despite the gravity of the findings of the Deep Dive report, the overwhelming impression of the SPA’s handling is one of inertia, a lack of curiosity, and an overriding concern for reputational management. The handful of summary paragraphs in the IRG Final Report cannot do justice to the shocking detailed personal testimonies from women officers, and what they reveal about the internal culture and practice of Police Scotland.
Policing Together Oversight Group Members who were directly alerted to the existence of the Deep Dive at its meeting in August 2024 should have taken that as a prompt to seek sight and SPA scrutiny of the underlying material. As should any Member who looked at the limited preview in the the Final IRG report. Front page press coverage of the IRG Final Report in September 2024, which focused on the overview of Deep Dive findings, provided another early prompt to pursue the report.
Instead, the SPA became part of Police Scotland’s approach of burying the research. According to SPA Chair, Oversight Group Members attending the meeting on 6 August 2024 felt ‘assured’ by Police Scotland that the findings were ‘sufficiently considered’, despite not having seen the report. They believed that Police Scotland had put in place ‘appropriate mechanisms’ to tackle the findings without a proper record of what these were. Oversight Group Chair Tom Halpin made no reference to the Deep Dive in his report to the SPA Board meeting later that month.
The IRG did not ‘report their findings publicly and periodically through Authority meetings’ as promised by Police Scotland and the SPA. In a break from protocol, the IRG Final Report was not included with the published SPA Board papers. Instead, Police Scotland published the report on its own website, which it described as an act of ‘transparency’. In practice, separating the Final Report from other SPA meeting papers in this way made it harder for interested stakeholders and, possibly, SPA Members to find.
Thereafter the Deep Dive report fell off the radar. It is apparent from the panicked reaction to The Herald’s query in July 2025 that the SPA had not pursued the report post-August 2024. This left senior mangers to hurriedly draft a press comment about a report it had not previously seen. The response, drafted in the space of thirty minutes, surprisingly claimed the Policing Together Oversight Group played a ‘key role in scrutinising progress’, in response to a press article about a report that the Oversight Group had not seen, let alone scrutinised.
As per the Chair’s letter to the Convener, the current SPA Oversight Group (whose full membership is unknown) appeared to fully accept Police Scotland’s version of events at the hastily arranged discussion on 29 August 2025. This included ACC Paton’s remarkable claim that Police Scotland was committed to approaching its work here ‘in a way that is both engaging and transparent’. At the full SPA Board meeting on 25 September, Members showed no further interest in the Deep Dive report.
Instead of holding Police Scotland to account, the SPA sought to protect its reputation and that of the single service. The respective roles of SPA Chair Fiona McQueen (as an original Member of the Oversight Group) and Chris Creegan (as Co-Chair of the IRG and now SPA Board Member) in this lengthy saga remain unclear.
At the sharp end of these events are the women who gave their time to the IRG, to disclose personal and distressing experiences about their professional lives. For the SPA Chair to suggest that the Deep Dive findings are only ‘reflective of views gathered at the time’ is dismissive and disrespectful of them. As acknowledged by the Chief Constable at the SPA Board on 25 September, sexism and misogyny are “long-standing challenges” and “cultural change doesn’t move quickly“.
As a case study of holding Scotland’s single police force to account, this story reflects badly on the SPA as an organisation that, for the most part, appeared to be asleep at the wheel. If and where possible, we suggest that the Criminal Justice Committee offer a private evidence session with the women who spoke to the IRG, to ascertain their views directly.4
Notes
- In June 2018 the then Cabinet Secretary for Justice and the Lord Advocate invited Lady Elish Angiolini to conduct an independent review of police complaints handling, investigations and misconduct issues. The Scottish Government published the final report in November 2020. The IRG came about in response to a recommendation that Police Scotland should be subject to a fundamental review of equality matters by an independent organisation. ↩︎
- On 25 August we wrote to the Criminal Justice Committee Convener, drawing attention to the report and sharing our concerns. ↩︎
- This includes the Criminal Justice Committee intervention and parliamentary questions. Following the Herald report, Unison Police Staff Scotland also wrote to the SPA and Chief Constable demanding to see the report and a meeting to discuss a plan of action. ↩︎
- [Footnote added 27 October] We have written to the Criminal Justice Convener with an overview of the above findings and to suggest that, if possible, the Committee meet IRG witnesses privately. ↩︎