Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
2 of 19 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
64/100
Daily Mail's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
More than £4 million a year is being spent on wages for suspended police officers, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
asserted
Mail → spend → Sunday
According to a Scottish Police Authority report obtained by the MoS, in the first quarter of this year more than £1 million was spent on salaries for 77 suspended officers.
uncertain
million → accord → officers
They include 58 constables, 14 sergeants and five officers from the most senior ranks, with the annual bill reaching more than £4 million.
asserted
bill → include → million
Some of the cash goes to officers who have already been convicted of serious offences but have not yet been dismissed.
asserted
who → go → offences
Among them is Carmichael John Williamson, known as John, who was last week found guilty of raping a teenager and a woman in Shetland.
asserted
who → know → Shetland
The 32-year-old constable was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh but has been suspended on full pay since January 2024.
asserted
constable → convict → January
He will continue to be paid his £50,000 salary, unless he resigns, until the force carries out its own misconduct proceedings.
asserted
force → continue → proceedings
On Friday, former sergeant Campbell Petrie, 50, of Glasgow, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for attacks against two women, including two counts of rape, over a 17-year period.
asserted
Petrie → sentence → period
He was suspended in December 2023 but remained on full pay of at least £54,000 a year for two years before retiring.
asserted
He → suspend → years
PC Carmichael John Williamson was convicted of crimes against women in Shetland
asserted
Williamson → convict → Shetland
Chief Constable Jo Farrell has said the force is taking action against offending officers
The Scottish Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said the length of time that officers are suspended was ‘frustrating’.
Chairman David Threadgold added: ‘It doesn’t really help anyone to have officers suspended for years on end.
asserted
officers → say → end
If it’s a criminal allegation, the time taken for the police to investigate, for the Crown to make decisions and to then go to court can be extremely long.
asserted
Crown → ’ → court
‘The sums of money involved in paying these salaries… if you put that resource back into community policing it would make a significant difference.’
asserted
it → involve → difference
Police Scotland has lost around 800 officers in the last decade, with Chief Constable Jo Farrell previously calling for an extra £34 million to recruit at least 350 new officers.
asserted
Farrell → lose → officers
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr said: ‘Current regulations are wholly inadequate and changes being proposed do not go far enough.
asserted
changes → say → ?
Firm timescales and regular updates for everyone involved, especially for suspensions that continue year after year, must be provided.
asserted
that → involve → year
New misconduct regulations will come into force next month, allowing internal investigations to continue even if an officer retires or resigns.
asserted
officer → come → force
Police chiefs said it would also allow claims of wrongdoing to be handled ‘in a more robust, timely and transparent way’.
uncertain
claims → say → way
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said regulations required suspended officers to receive full pay and that a review is done regularly ‘in order to confirm this remains the most suitable option’.
asserted
this → say → pay
The Aporia
