Glasgow’s Labour leader is calling for the city council to have more control over local policing as the public enquiry into Sheku Bayoh - who died while being restrained by police - continues.
Councillor George Redmond will present his motion to elected members on Thursday morning, asking them to write to the Scottish Government about the lack of local, operational accountability of police services which are being delivered nationally.
The motion mentions the case of 31-year-old Sheku Bayoh was born in Sierra Leone and fled to the UK in 1995 unaccompanied to escape civil war.
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In May 2015 he died after being restrained by police in a street in Kirkcaldy, and he was later found to have 23 separate injuries.
His death sparked controversy and a public enquiry is ongoing into the circumstances of the father of two’s death and whether race was a factor.
While discussing the disappointment that Mr Bayoh’s family is still without answers, councillor Redmond’s motion also notes that the number of Scottish officers at its lowest level since 2008.
And he suggests giving local areas more control over the organisation of local police could lead to improvement.
It reads: “The council notes Police Scotland's successes including a number of high-profile, high-risk events such as COP26 and its work throughout the Covid pandemic; and pays tribute to the dedication and tenacity of our police officers in tackling crime.
“However, council regrets: that Scotland now has the lowest number of police officers since 2008, that officers in Scotland are the only officers in the UK not routinely equipped with body cameras; that figures, published in January, demonstrated a quarter of 101 calls were abandoned; and expresses its deep disappointment that the family of Sheku Bayoh are still without justice 8 years later.”
Councillor Redmond believes that the organisation will function best when held to account by local communities and people.
His motion continued: “Council believes: that the police is an important institution in our communities; that Police Scotland is not immune to the institutional challenges faced by other police forces in the world; and that the police can function best when they are held to account by local communities and local people.
“Council reiterates its belief that local services should be subject to local, democratic accountability; and, therefore, calls on them to review the local accountability of policing as part of the New Deal for Local Government."
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