Public at risk in Scotland as police funding cuts means fewer crimes are being investigated
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Police Scotland is detecting and preventing fewer crimes as it attempts to rein in spending, a report into the force’s finances has disclosed.
The document warned that budget constraints are having an impact on frontline policing, harming the welfare of officers and leading to higher levels of absence.
The report, presented to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) watchdog, warned that a “recruitment pause” at the end of last year had resulted in “reductions in proactive crime prevention and reductions in detection rate”.
The head of the body which represents rank and file officers said the report was further evidence that Police Scotland is becoming a “reactive service” where the force is only guaranteed to attend serious incidents.
David Threadgold, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), claimed that the “basic principles of engagement and proactivity” were being lost, and said the force was “becoming irrelevant in our communities” as a result.
Minor crime cases being closed
The report was published after it emerged that the force was considering not conducting a full investigation of every crime in Scotland after a pilot scheme was deemed a success.
An “evaluation” had been completed of a project in the North East of the country where some “minor” crimes were not investigated if they were deemed to require excessive manpower.
Complaints of some thefts, break-ins and vandalism were closed if there were no leads or CCTV evidence, in what was described as a “proportionate response to crime”.
Ahead of this year’s Scottish Budget, Chief Constable Jo Farrell called on the Scottish Government to provide an extra £128 million next year so her officers could maintain “a visible, accessible and proactive front line”.
Angela Constance, the justice secretary, said Police Scotland had been given “record” funding of £1.55 billion for 2024-25, and added that this was an increase of £92.7 million.
But the report, covering the force’s finances for the third quarter of 2023-24, said Police Scotland was still expected to go £5 million in the red in the current financial year. Decisions such as the recruitment freeze had brought this figure down from £18.9 million.
“Whilst the overtime management group has had an impact of significantly reducing overtime, this has had a similar impact to the reduction in officers, in that there has been welfare implications, an impact on frontline policing and a decline in crime detection,” it said.
“The public are paying the price”
Mr Threadgold told 1919 magazine: “I cannot accept that a single executive decision in the last six months has been based on anything other than finance.
“The welfare of officers has been a secondary consideration and I challenge anyone to produce evidence to the contrary. Recent reporting of ‘success’ in reducing a projected overspend by £13 million this financial year could be applauded, but at what cost?”
Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tories’ Shadow Justice Secretary, said: “Police officers and the public are paying the price of the relentless weakening of Scottish policing while SNP ministers are in a state of denial about the consequences of their own actions.
“Of particular concern is that the wellbeing of our hardworking police officers has [been] allowed to become an afterthought. To gamble with officer safety is unforgivable.”
Ms Constance said: “Scotland continues to have more police officers per head of population than England and Wales, and Scotland’s officers are the best paid at all levels. Recorded crime is at one of the lowest levels since 1974.”
Police Scotland referred to comments by Ms Farrell at last month’s SPA meeting. In her report, she said: “Police Scotland must focus intensely on our core duties and what matters to the people we serve.
“If what we do doesn’t protect the vulnerable from harm, prevent crime or support our officers and staff, we will challenge that and redirect resources to prioritise the front line.”
