Police need to fill £20m black hole... and find 700 more PCs
NEARLY 1,400 police officers and civilian staff are needed for Scotland’s cash-strapped single force to meet demand, a report warns.
The Police Scotland analysis said plugging the gap would cost more than £20million – in a further indication of the crisis facing the service.
It said nearly 700 officers were needed – and a similar number of civilian staff – to allow it to cope with a soaring workload.
The disclosure comes after the same report warned that, without a dramatic funding hike, the force may need to cut
‘It can have an impact on public safety’ Nearly 4,000 police officer jobs could be cut, says report Cybercrime ‘reducing need for bobbies on beat’ Yesterday’s Daily Mail
the number of officers by nearly 4,000 as part of cost-cutting measures.
Last night, Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘The future finances of Police Scotland look very troubling indeed because of SNP funding decisions. But this strategy shows the present is equally challenging, something we’ve been warning about for years. Yet still the SNP Government sits back without taking any action.
‘The consequences of Police Scotland having to run with fewer officers and staff are serious. It places significantly more strain on what is already a difficult job.
‘And, of course, ultimately it can have an impact on public safety, something we care about, even if the SNP Government doesn’t.’
The Police Scotland workforce planning document – to be discussed at a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority tomorrow – says 693 officers and 671 civilians are needed to meet current demand – with the funding gap estimated at £20.6million.
The report warns that ‘without additional funding for these resources or revised direction from government which reduces demand on policing services, future service delivery may be significantly compromised’.
Moves such as changing shift patterns and more hand-held devices to enable mobile working will help to free up officers to bolster personnel numbers on frontline duties, helping to bridge the manpower gap.
Yesterday, the Mail revealed the same report reveals the number of Scots police officers could be slashed by nearly 4,000 under radical cost-cutting measures.
Top brass commissioned the study, which examines a potential move to boost the proportion of civilians from 20 per cent of the headcount to nearly 40 per cent.
Supporters of ‘civilianisation’ say it is necessary as cybercrime and online sexual offending become bigger problems, reducing the need for beat bobbies.
But police chiefs want more funding to avoid having to make cuts, arguing that Covid and Brexit have shown the need to keep officer numbers high.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Recruitment into Police Scotland continues to be strong, with officer numbers in Scotland significantly above the level inherited in 2007 and favourable relative to elsewhere in Great Britain.
‘Despite constraints on Scotland’s public services through a decade of UK austerity, the Scottish Government’s investment in policing this year increased by £60million to more than £1.2billion, with an additional £8.2million provided specifically to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the policing budget.’