Looming cuts would be ‘catastrophic in Scotland’

Police Federation official appeals to justice minister not to ‘go down road’ of 2010

Looming budget constraints could be “catastrophic” for policing, the Scottish Government has been warned.

Scottish Police Federation General Secretary Calum Steele urged Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf to “not go down the road” of cuts to officer numbers seen in England and Wales in 2010.

His plea to the justice minister was in response to fears raised by Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, who said the officer numbers are “not sustainable”, with as many as 1,000 posts at risk.

Mr Steele said it would be “ironic in the extreme” if policing numbers in Scotland began to slip just as Boris Johnson pledged to recruit 20,000 police officers in England and Wales.

The plea comes the day after a fatal accident inquiry heard staffing levels may have contributed to the death of

Mark Hutton in Dundee police custody.

Posting on social media, Mr Steele said that – aside from the death itself – the most “depressing element” of the tragedy was that custody staff had stopped asking for help when busy as they “never always got it”.

The correspondence between Mr Steele and Mr Yousaf was released through freedom of information legislation and was sent in August.

In the letter, Mr Steele praised the Scottish Government’s actions to combat cuts to policing in the face of UK austerity. He also noted the prime minister’s recruitment pledge would simply restore numbers to pre-2010 levels, when the cuts began.

However, Mr Steele claims Scottish Government support is fading away.

He said: “It is notable that the oncetriumphant language (on policing) that was a cornerstone of the Scottish Government’s messaging for its first eight years in power is now nowhere to be seen.”

Mr Yousaf said he was proud of the SNP’s record on tackling crime.

He said: “Officer numbers in Scotland continue to remain significantly above 2007 levels – in contrast to the reductions in England and Wales.”

Speaking to The Courier, Mr Steele said: “The chief constable has said in order to balance the books he will have to lose 750 officers next year.

“I will continue to make the case that this would be catastrophic in Scotland.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Ministers reject entirely this characterisation of policing in the SPF general secretary’s letter.

“Despite constraints on Scotland’s public services through a decade of UK austerity, policing services have been maintained and improved.”