Smacking ban to tie up thousands of police

THOUSANDS of police are set to be trained how to respond to reports of parents smacking their children.

Cash-strapped Police Scotland expects the new ban will have a ‘significant impact’ on resources.

It raises the prospect of the law having a greater influence on family life than previously thought.

The Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act was passed in October last year.

It removed the defence of ‘justifiable chastisement’ from parents who physically discipline their children.

Green MSP John Finnie, who introduced the Bill, said international evidence suggested a slight increase in reports to police, adding that officers were ‘unlikely to change their approach to dealing with such reports’. This was backed by the Scottish Police Federation, the union representing rank-and-file officers, which did ‘not believe that removing the statutory defence would result in a significant increase in the prosecution of parents and carers’.

Mr Finnie – himself a former police officer – suggested the total cost to the force would be just £3,500.

But communications between Scottish Government officials paint a very different picture.

An email, sent on December 2, states: ‘We are yet to hear from Police Scotland on what the cost implications might be. However, at the meeting ... [it was] explained that they’re still mapping out costs as part of the project but they expect that, with 17,000 officers to consider, there is going to be a “significant impact”.

‘This is the first time we have heard this in relation to Equal Protection.’

There are already fears the SNP is underfunding the police. Last week, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said it was ‘hyperbole’ to claim that police stations were ‘falling apart’.

Officers accused him of ‘denying’ reality, as images were shared showing water pouring through the roofs of police buildings and rooms covered in mould and fungus.

Now the smacking ban is likely to add to the force’s financial woes.

Last night, Scottish Tory finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said: ‘This is another serious consequence of poorly thought-through legislation.

‘Those behind this unpopular and unworkable Bill didn’t think for one minute what the difficulties would be in reality for the police.’

The Welsh Government has said it plans to spend more than £2 million on ‘awareness-raising’ in the first five years of its ban.

But Scottish Children’s Minister Maree Todd has estimated the cost of doing something similar here at between £20,000 and £475,000.

Detective Chief Superintendent Lesley Boal, head of public protection at Police Scotland, said: ‘We are considering what additional awareness is needed by our 17,000 officers

‘This work will include a full assessment of the likely cost.’

The Scottish Government said it had ‘formed an implementation group which is considering what is needed to implement the Act’.

‘There is going to be a significant impact’