Police report into SNP financial investigation expected “within weeks”

Image caption Jo Farrell became the first female chief constable of Police Scotland last OctoberArticle information

• Author, David Cowan
• Role, BBC Scotland home affairs correspondent

• May 13, 2024

Detectives investigating the SNP’s finances will report their findings to prosecutors within a “matter of weeks”, according to Police Scotland’s chief constable.

Jo Farrell refused to say whether anyone else will face charges alongside the party’s former chief executive Pedro Murrellwho was accused of embezzling SNP funds.

In a wide-ranging interview, her first since taking office last October, the police chief said she wanted her officers to stop carrying out welfare checks on people with mental health problems.

Farrell also repeated an apology to a former police officer who was sexually assaulted by a colleague.

Operation Branchform, the investigation into the SNP’s funding and finances, was launched in July 2021.

Last April, it led to the arrest of Murrell and the party’s former treasurer, Colin Beattie.

And in June, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who is married to Murrell, was also arrested.

All three were later released without charge.

But last month Murrell was accused of embezzling SNP funds.

Detectives based at the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh have been working on the case in consultation with prosecutors from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

Officers are finalizing what is known as a standard prosecution report, detailing their findings and presenting their evidence.

Asked when the report will be sent to the Crown Office, the police chief said: “I anticipate that will be within a matter of weeks.”

Crown Office lawyers will then decide whether the case should go to court.

Image source, Police Scotland

Jo Farrell became commander of the UK’s second largest police force last October, after four years in charge of one of the smallest, Durham Police.

She had no previous experience of policing in Scotland and her appointment surprised many.

Just weeks after taking up the role, it emerged that she had used a police car to return home to the north of England during Storm Babet.

The boss had to issue a public apology in his first appearance before the board of the Scottish Police Authority, the body that had just given him the position.

It was painful to watch and a distraction from the chief’s main message that day, which was an argument for increasing Scottish Government funding.

Faced with a recruitment freeze, a dwindling workforce and increasing operational pressures, Ms Farrell called for a £128 million budget increase and managed to secure an additional £104 million.

Recruitment has restarted but the force still has the lowest number of officers in 15 years.

Seven months after taking on the top job, holding a series of press interviews at a Glasgow police station, the new boss’s central message was that officers must be able to focus on policing.

Image caption Sir Iain Livingstone was Chief Constable of Police Scotland for five years until he retired last August

Police Scotland says every year they respond to more than 100,000 mental health incidents – just 13% of which involve a crime.

On busy days, a mental health-related call comes in every two to three minutes.

In England, many forces have adopted a new approach and only respond to mental health incidents when a crime has been committed or there is an immediate threat to life.

Ms Farrell says she does not want to go that far, but argues that Police Scotland should no longer be asked to carry out the routine work of other agencies.

Asked if she wanted her officers to stop carrying out welfare checks on people with mental health problems, she replied: “Absolutely”.

“Our involvement in mental health incidents and supporting vulnerable people has a significant impact on this organization and goes far beyond where policing should be.

“We are the ones who have to deal with house break-ins, online sexual abuse, fraud, cybercrime, domestic abuse, serious and organized crime. We are the only ones who do this.”

Farrell also wants to reduce the time officers spend in court waiting to be called for trials that don’t proceed.

“Mental health and the courts are the two big issues that are taking officers away from frontline policing.

“I would say around a third of police officers who are called to court are on rest days or annual leave and this has an impact on their wellbeing and work-life balance.

“My conservative estimate is that only 15% end up giving a statement.”

Work is underway to reduce police calls for mental health calls and the amount of time they spend in court.

When he took office last year, Farrell said he supported his predecessor Sir Iain Livingstone’s statement that the force was institutionally discriminatory.

Image caption Gemma MacRae, who waived her anonymity, spoke to BBC Scotland News about her ordeal

On the day she spoke to the media, BBC Scotland News revealed that a former officer had accepted a payment of £431,968 from Police Scotland.

Gemma MacRae was sexually abused by a colleague and complained of bullying and misogyny at Forres police station in Moray.

She first made the accusations seven years ago and left the police in 2021.

“It is clear that the behaviour, attitude and actions she has suffered are frankly disgusting and have no place in Police Scotland,” Farrell said.

“A large proportion of people in the organization will feel exactly the same as I do.”

Gemma MacRae told the BBC she felt like she had hit her head against a brick wall during the process and that it would still be “career suicide” to raise complaints.

“I recognize what Gemma is saying and we have more work to do,” the police chief said.

Farrell added that the force aims to return to 16,600 officers this year and is “focused” on frontline policing while looking for “efficiencies” elsewhere.

Image caption, Protests against new hate crime legislation were held outside the Scottish Parliament last month

The controversy over the legislation attracted international attention, but the force refused all media requests for interviews.

None of its highly paid and experienced senior officers were appointed to explain how the force would interpret the law or handle complaints.

From the outside, it looked like a bunker mentality had taken hold. Farrell disagrees.

“We made a very deliberate decision to wait and see how it all pans out,” she said.

“Right at the beginning, it was very impactful, but it quickly returned to what I would call the new norm in terms of reports coming in.”

It is too early to say whether the new police chief will have an impact on the force’s many challenges, old and new.

The Scottish Police Federation says she is saying the right things, but the big question is whether she can deliver.

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