Anti-terror police chiefs not qualified for attack Published: 07 April 2014 Some anti-terror police officers dont have enough training. Picture: Reuters 11 comments By ANGUS HOWARTH HALF of Scotland’s top police officers do not have the mandatory qualification needed for dealing with major incidents such as terrorist attacks and natural disasters, it has been revealed. The senior Police Scotland chiefs have not passed a training course deemed essential for dealing with critical and often unforeseen incidents. It is understood four of the eight serving Assistant Chief Constables (ACCs) do not have the Strategic Command Course (SCC) qualification. This is despite SNP ministers making the SCC mandatory for senior officers in 2008 and the three-month course being described as “essential” in the job advert for the £116,000-a-year ACC roles. Among those without the top qualifications are Police Scotland’s lead officer on counter-terrorism and another senior figure making preparations for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. With Scotland also hosting the Ryder Cup this year, concerns have been raised about how well-equipped the officers are if something goes wrong. A police source said: “This will hack off a lot of people in the force. You can’t become a sergeant without passing your sergeant’s exam so why should it be any different further up the tree?” In 2008, the Scottish Government ruled that the SCC would become a mandatory qualification for anyone applying to become an ACC or higher rank. The 2012 job adverts for the new ACC roles stated it was essential applicants have successfully completed a relevant police SCC – but police sources say several serving senior officers do not have these qualifications. ACC Ruaraidh Nicolson, who is responsible for combatting organised crime and terrorism, has neither the PNAC nor SCC. The man in charge of local policing in West Scotland, ACC Wayne Mawson, has passed his PNAC but not the SCC. Two further Police Scotland ACCs do not have the SCC, but are only temporary appointments. They are Campbell Thomson, in charge of local policing in northern Scotland, and Derek Robertson, second in command for policing the Commonwealth Games. Labour’s justice spokesman, Graeme Pearson – who has both the PNAC and SCC qualifications from his time as director general of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency – said: “I think it is unfortunate the service has not taken on the requirement for the SCC even though they said at the outset it was necessary for every senior officer… it has to be applied.” A Scottish Police Authority spokesman said: “Based on the applications received in response to the ACC job advert, advice was taken from HMICS who deemed that other qualifications listed in applications could be classed as ‘relevant’ to the SCC.” More Sharing ServicesShare | Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on google_plusone_share Share on linkedin Share on email Share on print PROMOTED STORIES Has Danielle Lloyd found love with a man who begged her not… OK! The Apprentice 2014: James Hills criminal past revealed OK! 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If even they are not yet aware of the fact that its over a year since theres only one Scottish police force now, what chance is there of coping with joined up writing, never mind joined up senior training? .......... the highest quality of training to improve the capability and capacity of all 8 Scottish Forces and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency in order that they can deliver a safer, stronger Scotland to the communities we serve. tulliallan.police.uk/policetraining" 07/04/2014 7:10 PM GDT Oldsob I cannot understand why everyone finds this situation so unusual. This is an age old tradition that has long been in practice. It is most certainly the rule here in Canada. Those in ADMINISTRATION hire those they know, and like. In acquiring ANY position......... It is NOT WHAT YOU KNOW.......IT IS WHO YOU KNOW. Qualifications and Knowledge of the work IS NOT a consideration....... everyone knows this. 07/04/2014 12:06 PM GDT when hell freezes over Its not just about courses; that give these people a tick in the box. The alarming issue is the woeful lack of operational experience. Plod Scotland is not prepared for a major incident. Simples. If a Piper Alpha or a Lockerbie happened today they could not cope. 07/04/2014 10:54 AM GDT Craig Ross @ Tintock Pete - Yes, but isnt it rather good that so much now has to be made public? If someone, with all the time in the world, cant produce a patina to hide their hopelessness youre left thinking, I used to think you were completely useless, but youre actually much worse than I originally thought. Through seeing your own words in the public domain, and seeing the reactions of others to them, you must be acquiring some awareness of your condition. You must use an electric razor: you cant look in mirrors, surely? 2Replies 07/04/2014 10:22 AM GDT useaname Dont worry, in iScotland there wont be any terrorist attacks. In fact there wont be any terrorists. And there wont be any crime. So long as you vote Yes. 1Reply 07/04/2014 10:16 AM GDT Tintock Pete The problem throughout the public sector these days is that theres quotas to fill and we still have an abundance of nepotism. 1Reply 07/04/2014 10:05 AM GDT David Bfpo The SCC has its admirers, but is essentially a method for imparting knowledge from the usual suspects and developing leaders within traditional bounds. Faced with a public issue where they could comment not one picked up the pen. Recently faced with a community relations issue the College didnt even have critical friends to call upon to speak to the SCC. The end product is hardly impressive, but totally acceptable to the Home Office and the establishment. Characterless, managerial and low risk takers - just the sort of leadership NOT needed in handling a CT or other serious incident. 07/04/2014 9:36 AM GDT Craig Ross Incidentally, if you want a laugh google Strategic Command Course (SCC) and look at the introductory web page on the College of Policing website. They cant even knock together a description of the course that a) looks as if it was written by someone with a passing familiarity with the English language, and b) looks as if it could conceivably be a preparation for anything. This bilge is produced by people who value personal advancement over ideas, and who work in cultures which cultivate compliance and networking over real improvement. Thank God Bletchley Park was staffed with people who had excellent degrees from decent universities otherwise würden wir alle Deutsch sprechen. I mean, really, look at this junk: Leadership and Ethics: Resilient, confident, emotionally intelligent, ethical, politically astute leaders with clear values and vision, with credibility as public-sector leaders at the executive level. You couldnt make it up. How thick would you have to be to suffer from the want of this course? Have any of the people involved spent thousands of hours reading The Open Society and its Enemies, The Constitution of Liberty, Democracy in America............Jesus.....anything? I mean, I know Im turning into a Primark version of Stewart Lee, but what on Earth is going on in our country that we manage to spend so much money on such utter drivel. 1Reply 07/04/2014 9:16 AM GDT Drumtochty It would be interesting to know how many of these ACCs came from the former Strathclyde area. 2Replies 07/04/2014 8:18 AM GDT grumpyscot Why is The Scotsman showing ENGLISH police in their photo? I thought the article was about SCOTTISH police! 2Replies 07/04/2014 7:55 AM GDT Craig Ross It would be interesting to get the Open University in and have them assess the course in terms of its level of difficulty and the amount of time required to complete it. My OU Masters had (it seems) 180 postgraduate points, and involved (I think) eight 2,500 word assessments, two 5,000 word research projects and an 18,000 word dissertation. I watched a documentary recently following the murder squad, which involved a room-full of detectives routinely displaying staggering levels of ignorance regarding the basic elements of their jobs. They were so unabashed they obviously didnt have any insight at all. That, unfortunately, is characteristic of the public sector: people really have no awareness of just how rudimentary their qualifications are, or that well-qualified candidates for their jobs are available at a fraction of the wages. During the 1980s and 1990s plenty of members of the Royal Signals left the army for the high pay of the telecommunications industry. It was only at that point that they met people in private industry who actually knew something, and they realised that their own knowledge of communications was laughably slight. As I say, I suspect that close examination would reveal that this course doesnt amount to a hill of beans. 1Reply Ads by Rubicon Project
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 09:04:22 +0000
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