Police U-turn over plan to cut back traffic patrols
PLANS to save cash by having only two traffic police cars covering Scotland’s entire road network daily between 3am and 7am have been put on hold after widespread condemnation.
The proposals were revealed by The Scottish Mail on Sunday last month after traffic officers shared concerns about the impact of budget cuts on their duties.
They have now learned that any changes will follow a report, expected in the summer, by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), which is conducting a review of road policing. However, it is certain there will be a marked reduction in cover due to Scottish Government budget constraints.
Currently, a full complement in the early hours would see a maximum of 14 officers in seven cars in the West of Scotland, 12 officers in six cars in the East and eight officers in four cars in the North.
The main concern over just two vehicles with only four constables on duty was that, in the event of a fatal accident, with long distances to cover and no senior officer to take charge, a body could remain on the road for hours. David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said: ‘Traffic policing, especially on the fast road network, is highly specialised. You cannot fill gaps, as has been suggested, with untrained general police officers.’
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay said the U-turn was welcome. ‘This will come as a huge relief to police officers who responsibly raised concerns,’ he said. ‘We can only hope that the HMICS report does not come to the same conclusion that two specialist traffic vehicles based in the Glasgow area can safely cover Scotland’s entire 34,000-mile road network in the early hours of the morning.’
Chief Superintendent Hilary Sloan, head of road policing, said: ‘We identified in early 2023 that road policing may need to change. One option to reduce night-shift hours using an evidence-led approach was in the early phases of consultation.
‘We have stopped the interim review and will consider any HMICS recommendations.’
Craig Naylor, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, said the HMICS inspection ‘is in the early stages of evidence-gathering and benchmarking against service provision in other areas of the UK’.
How whole of Scotland could be covered by just 2 traffic cop cars