The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has announced the appointment of Iain Livingstone as the next Chief Constable of Police Scotland. The appointment will be for a fixed term of four years with the possibility of extension in line with legislation.
The appointment was made by the SPA and approved by Scottish Ministers in accordance with the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 and follows a robust assessment and selection process. Susan Deacon, Chair of the SPA and Chair of the Selection Panel who interviewed candidates for the role, announced the appointment saying, “I am pleased to announce the appointment of Iain Livingstone as Chief Constable of Police Scotland. The decision follows an extremely rigorous and robust selection process which has involved a range of external advice and inputs.
“Iain Livingstone is an outstanding police leader who has made an exceptional contribution to policing in Scotland. I am confident that as Chief Constable, working together with a recently strengthened leadership team, he will provide renewed stability, purpose and direction to Police Scotland after a demanding and challenging period. This is a significant milestone in our continued efforts to strengthen the leadership and governance of policing in Scotland. I look forward to working with Iain Livingstone and his team as we continue to develop policing to keep people safe and meet the needs of a changing Scotland.”
Mr Livingstone has been Police Scotland’s Deputy Chief Constable Designate since May 2016. Prior to this, he was Deputy Chief Constable for Crime and Operations since Police Scotland was formed in 2013. He was awarded the Queens Police Medal in May 2015.
Iain Livingstone said, “I am extremely proud and humbled to be appointed as Scotland’s next Chief Constable. It is a great responsibility and opportunity to lead a 22,000 strong team of dedicated and committed professionals, and to harness their ideas and potential in the service of the people of Scotland. Policing has been my life and the demands on it are developing faster today than at any time in my career. It is my job now to lead and drive change in policing to adapt to those challenges and to build on the values, ethos and traditions of policing in Scotland that first attracted me to this profession 26-years ago.”
