House to step down as chief constable

Sir Stephen House, chief constable of Police Scotland, is to stand down on 1 December.

The Scottish Police Authority today confirmed that Sir Stephen would leave his post ahead of the expiry of his contract in September 2016. Sir Stephen, formerly the chief constable of Strathclyde, has come under sustained criticism since the national force was established in 2013, over issues over armed police going on routine patrol, the high incidence of stop and search, and most recently the three days it took officers to respond to a report of a crashed car on the M9, in which two people died.

Thanking the chief constable for his "dedicated service" with both forces, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said he had provided a strong focus on tackling violent crime, domestic violence and sexual crime. 

“The policing of major events when Scotland was in the international spotlight such as last year’s Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup was also exemplary", she commented.

Ms Sturgeon continued: “Reform of policing in Scotland was absolutely vital to sustain the policing upon which Scotland’s communities depend and Sir Stephen’s contribution to that was invaluable.

“As a result, policing in Scotland continues to perform extremely well and the police service deserves great credit for this. Moving to a single service is safeguarding frontline policing from Westminster cuts."

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: “There have been challenges but we are learning the lessons and addressing the issues. We continue to make good progress on the reform journey to deliver a truly integrated single service and all the benefits that brings and I will expand on this in a statement on policing to Parliament next Thursday."

Scottish Labour justice spokesman and former police officer Graeme Pearson said Sir Stephen was doing the right thing by resigning, and Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said he was "bowing to the inevitable". Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, commented that Sir Stephen's departure would not by itself solve the "deep-rooted problems" in Police Scotland, and that the force needed a "fresh start". 

Scottish Police Federation chairman Brian Docherty, said: "I have little doubt that history will prove to be kinder to Sir Stephen than the current commentary which at times has been vindictive and deeply personal."