We can’t even chase crooks, reveal police

Whistleblower blames cutbacks, lack of training and car problems

SCOTLAND’S police fear they are unable to pursue criminals after years of crippling cost-cutting.

Officers are now ‘prevented from chasing a fleeing criminal’ because of problems with equipment, a whistleblower has claimed.

In a damning indictment of the state of the force, the source said some cars are an ‘accident waiting to happen’ and that more than 2,500 officers are waiting for training.

Audit Scotland has already warned the service is ‘financially unsustainable’ after years of cuts.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank and file officers, echoed the concerns and blamed the SNP’s ‘inadequacy of funding’ – saying this has led to a ‘deterioration in the condition’ of police vehicles.

The whistleblower said: ‘Scotland’s police cars are an accident waiting to happen. Many police drivers will be prevented from chasing a fleeing criminal because they have been refused training to exceed the speed limits.

‘We are in the dangerous position that armed response teams may be chasing terrorist suspects or armed robbers, yet do not have the training to drive at the high speeds of the criminal.’

The source added that there are concerns about the number of collisions resulting in serious injuries which have i nvolved new BMW X5s.

‘The X-drive system prevents certain manoeuvres in adverse weather conditions, leading to confusion and often an accident,’ the source said, adding that such worries were first raised in 2017.

There are also fears that many other vehicles in the fleet are vulnerable to being ‘overloaded’.

Police Scotland has admitted it has restricted the number of officers who can travel in many of its cars to three, but insisted this has had ‘minimal operational impact’.

The force also said its equipment and vehicles are regularly tested to ensure they are of the ‘highest standard’. But the SPF painted a very different picture and revealed that it has bypassed the force and contacted BMW directly to try to secure training for members.

An SPF spokesman said: ‘We consider it a matter of extreme regret that an inadequacy of funding has led to a deterioration in the condition of the police fleet, and also to the availability of driver training.’

The Scottish Government merged eight regional forces into one in 2013 – and ordered the force to make immediate cuts. The SPF has estimated that, by the middle of the decade, it will have lost £1.9 billion of funding in real terms.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘These revelations sum up the SNP’s failure to properly fund Police Scotland.’

Police Scotland insisted that all drivers are required to undergo training, with additional courses for those driving BMW X5s who are involved in pursuits.

But the force was unable to say how many officers are waiting for training, or how many collisions had been recorded involving BMW X5s. Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said: ‘Officer and public safety is paramount for Police Scotland and we regularly test our equipment and vehicles to ensure they are of the highest standard.

‘As part of this rigorous training programme, officers are trained to safely manage operational pursuits, including doing so while deployed in a BMW X5.

‘Only after passing this training can an officer engage in a pursuit and, crucially, they must also be authorised to do so.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Operational matters are

‘Revelations sum up failure to fund police’

an issue for the Chief Constable. Despite constraints on Scotland’s public services through a decade of UK austerity, our investment in policing this year increased by £60 million to more than £1.2 billion and an additional £8.2 million to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the policing budget.’

A BMW spokesman said: ‘All vehicles submitted for police duty are required to pass the mandatory UK police high-speed handling and braking test. This is... completed by the police test engineers, which all generations of the X5 have passed.

‘BMW has delivered product briefings to the Scottish Police College driver training department, as it does for all police authorities.’