The Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (PIRC), like other police oversight bodies, employs a blend of staff drawn from police and non-police backgrounds. Currently, 57% of the PIRC's staff do not have previous experience as police officers while the remaining 43% do hold this experience.
There is a slightly higher proportion of former police officers within the Investigations department as it is recognised that a highly skilled team, familiar with undertaking serious and complex investigations, is required to deal with the nature of the work undertaken.
Those with expertise in dealing with situations such as deaths in custody, crime scene management, road traffic matters, firearms incidents and family liaison support bring a depth of experience and specialist skills to our investigations. Currently, 63% of staff within the Investigations Team previously served with one of the former Scottish legacy or current UK forces.
The remaining staff in the team are drawn from a variety of investigatory backgrounds, including recruits from the Fire and Rescue Service and the Armed Services.
From the outset, the PIRC has operated a scheme to train new recruits who have no previous investigatory experience. This has been extremely successful, with a number of trainees having completed the course and gone on to become Investigators. The PIRC are continuously improving this programme and we hope to continue developing our team in this way.
Gender balance:
The gender balance amongst staff within the organisation is 53% male and 47% female.