Police chief to face watchdog probe on course cheating allegations

Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Mawson was this summer accused of passing a subordinate's work off as his own as he tried to secure the qualification necessary to keep his job.

Late last month a committee of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA, Police Scotland's main civilian watchdog, met in secret to discuss the case.

Officials have refused to say what decision they came to.

However, it can reveal that allegations against Mr Mawson have now been referred to another watchdog, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner Kate Frame, pictured below.

Ms Frame's team will now assess the allegations to see if, it substantiated, they would amount to misconduct, gross misconduct or do not merit further investigation. Any substantiated claim of gross misconduct would be career-ending.

The SPA complaints and conduct committee heard the case on September 29, months after it was first brought to their attention after an initial investigation by Police Scotland's own professional standards officers. The complaint was formally sent to the authority by Neil Richardson, Police Scotland's deputy chief constable. The SPA could have decided not to refer to PIRC.

PIRC, which is already dealing with a number of independent investigations - one of its primary roles, will report back to the SPA.

Force insiders have already described how the claims, even though they have not been proved, have sent shockwaves through the highest ranks in Police Scotland.

This is because Mr Mawson is widely seen as a close ally of, and even potential long-term successor to, chief constable Sir Stephen House, pictured above, who is retiring.

It is also because Mr Mawson has also been one of the most politically high profile chief officers in Scotland.

As the public face of controversial stop-and-search tactics, he drew intense fire inside Holyrood and out.

The accusations of cheating relate to Mr Mawson's attendance at the UK College of Policing's prestigious Strategic Command Course (SCC) in Sunningdale, Berkshire, earlier this year.

Normally an assistant chief constable would be expected to have already passed the two-month Sunningdale course or an equivalent before taking up their post.

However, Mr Mawson was appointed ACC, with responsibility for community policing in western Scotland, without having completed the command course. He graduated in March, at his first attempt, two years after being appointed.

One of the tasks at the course was to design a new system for dealing with a particular branch of policing. It is alleged that Mr Mawson, pictured above, submitted work carried out by an officer under his command. That officer is not thought to be under investigation.

It is understood that all command course candidates had signed a document saying all work would be their own.

Complaints against senior officers are not uncommon. A cheating allegation is, however, unusual.

Police Scotland declined to comment. So did the SPA. Both cited confidentiality issues surrounding disciplinary matters.