Single Scottish force will see a new chief constable by the autumn the government says, following a change of heart.

The appointment of a chief constable to lead Scotland’s new single police force is now set to made in the autumn – rather than the end of the year.

The change in direction from the Scottish Government follows evidence given to its Justice Committee which called for the new chief constable to be appointed as soon as possible. Previously it was not going to happen until the end of the year.

“It is welcome news – the earlier the better.”

The Scottish Police Federation and ACPOS have welcomed the move which they say is needed to ensure the launch of the force on April 1 2013 goes smoothly.

The Federation had previously called for a faster appointment – claiming the new chief constable would have to help structure the new service and therefore an end of year selection would have been too late.

The Justice Committee has subsequently published a report into the new Police and Fire Reform Bill, which will bring in the new single force, and the recommendation was made to speed up the appointment.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “I agree with the Committee that the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer should be appointed as early as possible – and this Government is working to achieve this.

“Subject to Parliamentary approval of the relevant primary and secondary legislation, the process for recruiting the Chair of the Boards and the Chief Officers will start in the summer and I expect all to be in place in the autumn, earlier than originally planned.”

Chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, Brian Docherty, said: “It is welcome news – the earlier the better.

“They (MSPs) are well aware of the need to start the process quickly to avoid a number of issues.”

Mr MacAskill added that the government was working with HM Treasury to see if the single Police Service of Scotland could get a VAT exemption on the supply of goods or services – which is currently afforded to the PSNI. Even without this he claimed the new single services – including a single Fire Service – were set to make savings of £1.7 billion over 15 years.

An ACPOS spokesman told PoliceOracle.com: “The President of ACPOS and the Chief Constable leading police reform in Scotland gave evidence to the Justice Committee and submitted written evidence voicing support, along with support from all the chief constables in Scotland, for the early appointment of the single Chief Constable.

“All the staff associations and organisations were looking for an early appointment.

“We welcome the Committee’s view that they have indicated their support for that as well.”

Before a chief constable is appointed, the government has to appoint a Scottish Police Authority which then has to decide who the chief constable will be.

Strathclyde CC Stephen House is seen as one of the front runners for the job along with former Tayside Police CC John Vine and current ACPO President Sir Hugh Orde.

Scottish Chief Constable To Be Appointed Sooner

See Also: Independent Scotland a ‘terror risk’

INDEPENDENCE for Scotland could leave all parts of the UK more vulnerable to terrorist attack due to the risk of communication failure between intelligence services, a former leading police officer has warned.

Graeme Pearson, a Labour MSP who was formerly director general of the Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), says having two intelligence services rather than one would create “a minefield of challenges” in the fight against terrorism.

It goes on to say -

The Scottish Government estimates that moving to a single force will save £40 million a year, and £1.4bn in total over 15 years.

However, senior police officers have publicly questioned whether those savings are attainable in the short-term, while the costs of putting the single force in place are still being felt. This is the time period over which, they believe, Scottish security services need to be put in place.

They also question where the necessary skills and experience would come from. One senior police source said: “There are really significant challenges in starting a security service from scratch. It’s inconceivable we’d want to rely on another country to provide those services for us, but where would the experience and skills come from?