Scottish government asked to reconsider 1,000 cops policy

The Scottish government has been asked to reconsider a key election pledge to maintain an extra 1,000 police officers in order to relieve financial pressure on Police Scotland.

Martin Fotheringham, vice-president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents said allowing police numbers to fall would prevent more devastating cuts in other parts of the force.

He highlighted the number of police officers who were forced to fill administrative roles due to a shortage of back-office staff caused by budgetary pressure.

The SNP’s commitment to maintain 1,000 more police officers than they inherited at the end of the Labour-Liberal Democrat administration in 2007 was a key party pledge in the past two Scottish Parliament elections.

The party believes the increased number of officers plays a critical role in reducing crime in Scotland’s communities, and regularly contrasts the policy with a reduction in officer numbers south of the border.

Mr Fotheringham said: “There is clearly some significant budget pressure and challenges ahead.

“We would like to see an intelligent conversation to consider all of the options.

“Included within that would absolutely be whether the lock-in on 1,000 additional officers remains the right policy, or whether it’s time to review that and look at more of a mixed staffing model.

“That’s not on the table at the moment because of the manifesto commitment.

“The next chief constable may want to have that conversation as well.

“The risk is that if you get rid of a load of police staff, a lot of those jobs still need to be done, so you end up with more and more officers performing police staff roles.”