Gangsters warning must be taken seriously

Concern that a lack of community officers gathering intelligence on streets could embolden dangerous criminals

The first duty of any government is to protect the lives of its people, so the ability of the police to deter and protect us from terrorists, organised crime gangs and others with violent intentions should be of paramount importance. However, a stark warning by David Kennedy, of the Scottish Police Federation, suggests the Scottish Government is failing to treat this primary responsibility with the requisite seriousness.

“The bottom line is the intelligence on organised crime groups (OCGS) and terrorism comes from the communities,” Kennedy said. “If you don't have community police officers out there patrolling and picking up on that intelligence, then they’re missing out on so much. We're finding OCGS coming in from far away, entering communities, knowing there’s no police, and actually setting up whatever they want to do knowing that nobody knows.

“My biggest fear is we are falling into the trap that we can only go to the big things. And then what will happen is maybe not today, but five or ten years’ time, we’re going to have really bad criminals within Scotland.”

Maintaining law and order may seem like a given in a relatively prosperous country like Scotland, but taking this for granted in the face of such warnings from people like Kennedy would be a mistake. Not least because crime disproportionally affects the poor – fracturing communities, making people afraid to leave their homes, and dissuading shops and businesses from opening in the area. High-crime areas can be subject to a long-term, general malaise that is difficult to shift.

The failure of mainstream politicians to deal with growing concern over immigration led to the rise of Nigel Farage, Brexit and what is now the Reform party. It has reshaped modern politics. A failure to prevent the rise in serious criminality as described by Kennedy could lead to altogether more dangerous changes.

Like the NHS and education, Police Scotland is a fundamental public service on which we must be able to depend. The SNP needs to work harder on getting the basics right, or the country will pay a high price.