SCOTTISH Labour has launched its own review of Police Scotland, headed by the party's justice spokesman and former top officer Graeme Pearson.
The party said Mr Pearson had been tasked by new Scottish leader Kezia Dugdale to assess the effectiveness of the single police force and "propose bold reforms to restore local accountability and reverse the impact of damaging SNP Government cuts to staff and services".
It comes days after Chief Constable Sir Steve House brought forward by almost a year his decision to stand down following months of pressure on the back of a series of policing failures and civil liberties controversies.
Pressure had been brought to boiling point over a number of issues including the M9 car crash, where two people lay injured and dying for three days.
It comes as Justice Secretary Michael Matheson faces accusations of being in denial over the crisis engulfing Police Scotland after he claimed Sir Stephen House had left a “lasting positive legacy”.
Opposition politicians said Mr Matheson and the Scottish Government were burying their heads in the sand about the full extent of the problems facing the force.
Mr Pearson said: "The failure over the M9 crash was the straw that broke the camel's back and exposed the many problems at the heart of Police Scotland today.
"We supported the introduction of the single police force back in 2013, but something has gone badly wrong with its implementation. The resignation of Sir Stephen House was the right thing to do but the problems won't follow him out the exit door.
"Labour will be bold and radical in our approach to policing in Scotland."
Mr Pearson, a former head of Crime and Counter Terrorism at Strathclyde Police and Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, will travel the country speaking to rank and file officers, civilian staff, community groups, victim support staff and others as part of a wide-ranging review of policing in Scotland.
The review will look at local accountability, the relationship between Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority and Scottish Government ministers, staffing and targets with the proposals for reform included in Labour's manifesto for 2016.
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