Civilians used to gather evidence in murder inquiry

CIVILIAN staff are being used to investigate murders and sex attacks under a government-funded scheme aimed at allowing police to concentrate on "core duties".

The 12-month pilot scheme involves using civilians to investigate offences that would normally be scrutinised by fully fledged police officers.

The investigative assistants, who are paid about £20,000 a year – roughly £9.60 an hour – were recruited to investigate less serious, "high-volume" crimes, such as housebreaking and vandalism, freeing police officers to carry out more patrols.

But The Scotsman can reveal that, since the initiative was launched in April, investigative assistants have also been assigned to a murder case and a serious sexual assault on a teenage boy. Police say they will continue to be used for more serious crimes, to assist their "personal development".

The duties performed by civilian staff on the more serious cases included interviewing witnesses and carrying out door-to-door inquiries.

Last night, rank-and-file police and opposition politicians voiced serious concerns after The Scotsman told them that civilian support staff – who are given three weeks' training – are being used to investigate some of the most serious crimes.

They accused the Scottish Government and senior officers of policing on the cheap.

Raymond Pratt, the secretary of the Strathclyde branch of the Scottish Police Federation, said he had been told investigative assistants would be used only in "low-level" cases, such as theft and vandalism.

"This is a pilot for investigative assistants, whose purpose was to free up time by dealing with low-level criminal investigations – things like evidence-gathering, interview-gathering and conveying productions," he said.

"The public have to have the confidence that those tasked with investigating the most serious of crimes have the requisite expertise, skills and knowledge to allow them to do this. And this should be vested in those who have the necessary skills to investigate major crime. That is, quite clearly, police officers."

A senior officer said the investigative assistants were helping fully trained police to identify suspects – but emphasised that interviewing those suspects, and carrying out arrests, would remain the preserve of officers.

Paul Martin, MSP, Labour's community safety spokesman, said he believed using civilians to carry out inquiries linked to murder and sex crimes was a "frightening" development.

"Civilians don't sign up to the level of commitment that a sworn police officer does," he said. "They don't necessarily have the same dedication. It's frightening and astonishing that civilians can be carrying out the job of police officers in such serious crimes.

"Police officers sometimes have to carry out fairly menial tasks. Sometimes that requires them to do jobs that, yes, could be carried out by civilians.

"But the experience and commitment that police officers give is something you cannot buy with a civilian.

"This is clearly an attempt to get more police officers on the street on the cheap."

Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, yesterday visited the Priority Crime Unit in Falkirk, where the civilian investigators are based, and gave his blessing to the initiative.

He announced government funding of nearly £300,000 to run the unit for a year, and stressed that the use of non-police officers to assist with the investigation of crime would free more officers to focus on "core functions".

He said: "I'm very impressed by what I've seen.

"A police officer's time is valuable. We all know what our communities want is a visible police presence, and this is an opportunity for a win-win situation.

"Police officers' time is able to be used doing their core functions, as well as protecting our communities," he said. "Equally, matters that require to be done that are not core police duties can be done at a lower level.

"This makes policing better and it makes Scotland safer."

The pilot scheme at Central Scotland Police will be evaluated by a team of academics from Dundee University, and it could eventually be rolled out across other forces.

Mr MacAskill insisted that the decision on whether or not to use investigative assistants would be left to chief constables, but he said they were all committed to freeing more officers from red tape to provide a higher-profile presence.

Superintendent Gavin Buist, of Central Scotland Police, said the initiative was freeing about 1,200 police hours every month. "There's always a risk with regular police officers that they are abstracted away from investigations to do other things," he said. "But now we have a dedicated team, which we know cannot be pulled away."

Mr Buist claimed having civilians involved in investigating serious crimes was good for their personal development.

"It's something we will do in the future – we have already done it twice," he said.

"There are two reasons why we are doing this. One is to try to introduce other officers from other parts of the force to the concept that there are other people involved in investigating.

"Secondly, it's a bit of development for the investigative assistants as well," Mr Buist went on. "There's no harm in teaching them that there's life beyond (less serious crime] and exposing them to different investigators, from whom they can maybe pick up other things."

He added: "It's not something we will necessarily do routinely, but it's always an option."

Team gives public 'a point of contact'

DRESSED in a plain suit, shirt and tie, men on the team are often mistaken for CID.

But the eight civilian investigative assistants hired by Central Scotland Police represent a far more radical dimension of 21st-century policing.

As well as interviewing witnesses and moving items of evidence, they are performing a role that the police have traditionally managed poorly.

They have become a reliable point of contact for victims, who are often frustrated at the lack of information given by the police about investigations.

After a three-week training course, mainly on interview techniques, they are thrown into the job.

The eight civilians work alongside eight detectives in a team headed by Detective Sergeant Hugh Louden, which concentrates on high-volume crimes, such as theft and vandalism.

Police insist that feedback from the public has so far been positive.

Superintendent Gavin Buist said: "This has exploded two urban myths. One is that the public want to see a police officer. What they really want is someone who cares and is interested and tells them what is happening. Investigative assistants are doing that.

"The second myth is that it is only police that can investigate crime."

Sentencing crackdown signalled by MacAskill
BLADE CULTURE

NEW sentencing guidelines to crack down on knife crime are likely to be introduced in Scotland, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill yesterday indicated.

In an interview with The Scotsman, Mr MacAskill said he was committed to introducing a "sentencing council" to set out guidelines for sheriffs and judges faced with certain crimes.

Proposals are likely to be introduced later in the year, following consultation with the judiciary.

"I would anticipate that any sentencing council would make it quite clear … that the user of a weapon should, except in the most exceptional circumstances, face a custodial sentence," he said.

Knife crime has risen to the top of the UK political agenda with Conservative leader David Cameron pledging to introduce a "presumption to prison" for any offender caught carrying a knife.

That followed a spate of high-profile stabbings that have seen 18 young people die in London alone this year.

Criminal laws are reserved to Scotland, where tougher laws on knife crime were passed two years ago with maximum sentences for knife-carriers raised from two to four years.

Asked if there was a need to consider further legislation to tackle knife crime, Mr MacAskill said: "Where we see the need is for a sentencing council. That's a matter that we're committed to.

"We do see the need to ensure greater consistency of sentencing, albeit always allowing the presiding sheriff or judge to deal with each circumstance as they see fit."

Mr MacAskill said he "could see benefit" from the sentencing council issuing clear guidelines on knife crime.

He added: "The council is not just a matter of consistency. It's also about allowing the public to have some influence about how we as a society view offences.

"The judiciary impose appropriate sentences for the crimes, but we do believe that victims and indeed others involved should be able to indicate how we view serious offences.

One weekend sees 17 stabbings
SCOTSMAN EXCLUSIVE

AT LEAST 17 people were stabbed on Scotland's streets last weekend, according to police figures that give further proof of the deadly knife culture blighting the country.

Most of the life-threatening attacks happened in Strathclyde, which saw four attempted murders and ten serious assaults.

A further 18 "simple" assaults, where a knife was brandished, were recorded in the force area between 6pm on Friday and midnight on Sunday.

Eleven of the offences took place in the Glasgow East constituency, where crime is a major issue in the upcoming by-election.

In Stranraer, a woman was allegedly stabbed in a dispute on Friday.

A 17-year-old female has appeared in court in relation to the incident, charged with assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement.

In Dumfries, two people appeared in court charged with possessing a knife over the weekend, while Lothian and Borders Police dealt with four knife-related incidents, including two serious assaults in Edinburgh.

Father cites 'lack of justice' after killing
CASE STUDY

BERTRAND Carey took politicians and legal figures to task after his son's killers had their sentences reduced.

He wrote to Mr MacAskill and the Lord Advocate to complain about a "lack of justice".

John McGhee – who was found guilty of murder after stabbing Mark Carey in a row over a can of beer – had been ordered to serve at least 14 years.

But appeal judges cut his minimum sentence by two years. Three other men who also attacked Mr Carey, at a party in the Muirhouse area of Edinburgh, had their sentences reduced too.

Mr Carey was stabbed in the stomach and died in a pool of blood in a garden.

His father said: "I was annoyed enough at the original sentence, particularly for McGhee.

There should be an 18-month prison sentence simply for carrying a knife, and a life sentence for anyone convicted of killing with a knife.

"But it's not just about tougher sentences. The police need to have a more visible presence if there is to be a change in the knife culture."