Police Scotland recruit Polish officers to tackle migrant crime

The two men have been seconded to the single force for six months as part of a trial scheme.

Chief superintendant Paul Main said: “They are here to advise us and to help us on criminal and other inquiries. They don’t have the power to arrest anyone or question anyone so they are always with Scottish officers.

“But they can assist us with understanding cultural and linguistic issues and connecting with law enforcement in Poland to deal with everything from organised crime to domestic abuse.”

Last year it emerged that nine per cent of police incidents involved a foreign national. However, there is no suggestion there is an unusually high criminality in Scotland’s Polish community.

A number of officers within Police Scotland have commended the scheme and noted that the officers have already helped greatly in crucial inquiries involving Poles as perpetrators, victims or witnesses of crimes.

The two officers are based at Police Scotland’s Crime Campus at Gartcosh, North Lanarkshire, but have been involved in incidents all across the country. They are paid their usual Polish salary and given allowances to account for the higher living costs in Scotland.

Maciej Dokurno of Fife Migrant Forum, who has trained Scottish police in how to deal with his fellow Poles, said: “I don’t think the Polish community would particularly want to see Polish officers patrol Scottish streets, but they would welcome their help in training officers here and provide valuable contacts in helping with issues such as missing persons.

“There are lots of cases when someone goes missing from Scotland or Poland and turns up in the other country.”