Police must tighten purse strings

IN December, Audit Scotland published a report that should worry anyone with an interest in the future of policing.

The watchdog projected a potential long-term deficit of £188 million in policing finances and warned of continued “weak financial leadership in both the SPA and Police Scotland”.

The report confirmed what politicians have long feared: Police Scotland may be locked into a spiral of cuts and decline. With this as context, the single force must deliver sound financial management by ensuring that every penny spent can be justified.

However, as we report today, the cash-strapped force can still find sizeable sums of money for purposes some would find questionable.

As is well known, the force illegally used its spying powers in a failed bid to flush out a journalist’s sources on the murder of sex worker Emma Caldwell. This sorry saga led to an Investigatory Powers Tribunal which was called to discuss “remedies” for the affected individuals. Instead of using an in-house lawyer, Police Scotland turned to a high-profile QC who had worked for another force on the Hillsborough case. Hiring Johnson cost Police Scotland nearly £14,000

Since 2013, the force has laid off civilian staff and made other savings cuts. And yet, Police Scotland found money in its budget to pay for a QC to work on an issue that disgraced the force. Chief Constable Phil Gormley needs to get a grip on the purse-strings – and fast.