More police officers taking on second jobs

FoI request reveals 33 officers in Tayside and Fife took second job

Police officers have taken second jobs as deer stalkers, entertainers and beauticians.

As many as 259 officers have been allowed to run outside business interests in a year in Scotland, according to figures obtained by The Courier.

They are involved in interior design, joining, refereeing, letting out property and salon work, the freedom of information request revealed.

Five officers were granted second job approval in Tayside and Fife divisions in 2013, compared with 33 this year.

Liam McArthur, the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ justice spokesman, called for clear rules to “ensure that the public aren’t being short-changed”.

The Courier asked police for figures showing how many officers were allowed to have another job or run businesses.

Police chiefs later said the figures included those officers who had registered their spouse or family member running a business in the force area.

There were 134 frontline police running their own business operations, taking up extra employment or engaging in other registrable activities while serving in 2013, compared with 209 this year. The figure peaked at 259 in 2015. The roles can be paid or unpaid and include coastguards and foster carers.

Jude Helliker, Police Scotland’s director of people and development, said they have “strict procedures to monitor business interests declared by officers and staff”.

Picture: Kim Cessford. On the beat: But police officers in Scotland are branching out into other avenues.