One of the leading police staff associations in Scotland says it is “disappointed” at the lack of progress made into bullying claims.
A survey carried out by the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (Asps) revealed a “worrying increase” of reports of intimidation and misuse of power over the last 12 months.
It found that around 13 officers felt bullied, including being intimidated, unfairly criticised or verbally insulted, compared to eight who made similar claims during a survey last year.
Asps president Chief Superintendent Niven Rennie said it was “apparent” that action has to be taken.
He added: “Whether it is an actual or a perceived problem is not clear, but it is more apparent there are a number of issues affecting superintendents and I don’t know if this is being given the right level of priority.
“We intend to give it the priority it needs.
“There are clearly issues which are required to be addressed and this should be a priority for Police Scotland.
“We are disappointed by the lack of progress since this survey was produced in May.”
Although around one in 10 respondents felt they were being targeted, significantly more as many as 85% said they felt supported by their managers.
Other concerns raised during the survey included “harsh and unhelpful” approaches to managing performance.
The study also revealed that just one quarter of superintendents and chief superintendents had taken their full annual leave, while only one in five took all their rest days.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “All Police Scotland officers and staff do a demanding and challenging job.
“We will carefully consider the results of this survey and respond.”