Probe into police bullying claims

Aug 31 2012

An independent investigation has been launched at the Scottish Police College after a survey revealed more than a quarter of staff claim to have been bullied.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said the allegations were being taken "extremely seriously" and independent experts were being brought in by the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) to determine the root causes.

Bosses at the Tulliallan college commissioned an anonymous survey of employees after the trade union Unison made allegations of systematic bullying. It asked employees if they had personally been bullied or harassed by a manager or another colleague at the college.

Of those who answered, 28.2% - 46 people - said they had been a victim of bullying. When asked if there was a culture of systematic bullying within the Scottish Police College, 13.1% - 21 people - thought this was the case while 86.9% of respondents rejected this.

Over half of all respondents - 52.9% - described it as being a "great place to work", with a further 29.9% regarding it as a "good" workplace. Just 6.4% thought the college was a "poor place to work", with 10.8% classing it as "OK".

Mr MacAskill said: "The Government takes bullying at work extremely seriously and I am delighted that action has been taken to investigate by the SPSA.

"I have the utmost faith in those currently dealing with the matter to make sure it is addressed, because it is an issue that must be. Clearly these allegations are significant, they are serious, but they are being investigated."

SPSA convener Vic Emery said some of the results were "disturbing".

He added: "There are also some positives, and the positives are that over 90% of the people in Tulliallan say it is a great place to work. That being said, if there are even one or two complaints about bullying or harassment, we need to take that seriously. We have taken that seriously and the board has directed that an investigation take place to determine the root cause of this."

Mr Emery said initial feedback from the investigation was expected to be known within two to three weeks.