New chief constable must ‘prioritise police numbers’, says Scottish Police Federation

It warned that the current operating model is “unsustainable for police officers’ welfare and for the communities they serve”.

The warning comes as Police Scotland confirmed it is postponing the planned intake of around 200 probationary constables who were due to join the service in January next year.

Police Scotland has already paused police support staff recruitment, except for some business-critical areas such as contact centres and custody suites, and is reviewing senior officer command structures and support services due to funding pressures.

There are also plan to “accelerate the disposal” of around 30 police buildings.

The SPF said: “There is not enough officers to answer the calls never mind enough of them to attend the calls. Police officers are reporting sick due to being overworked, they can’t get time off with their families as they are constantly having rest days cancelled and If the budgets are to blame, then the service has to take a real look at what it is trying to achieve and be realistic in what it can do with the finances so short.”

Chief Constable Jo Farrell promised to “prioritise” trust, confidence, high performance and officer and staff wellbeing as she took up her post on Monday (October 9).

But the SPF said: “The chief constable must publicly challenge the government and force a U-turn in the financial policies that are threatening public safety and the detection of crime.

“We need more police officers not less and the constant rebuttal re finances to reduce police numbers is not sustainable.

“The chief has to push for properly paid police officers, properly resourced so that they can have a real impact on crime and supporting the victims of crime. How can anyone believe that reverting back to less officers than we had in 2007 equate to anything less than disaster.

“The closing of police stations will also result in less contact with the communities we serve. This is real challenging times for the police service, and we will work with Chief Constable Jo Farrell to try and help the service and our members to give the best police service we can.”

Police Scotland said it be will pausing all training and redirect officers to support and maintain operational policing over the busy festive period.

It said postponing the planned intake of around 200 probationary constables, who were due to join the service on January 8, will also free-up training staff to support frontline colleagues by performing operational duties over Christmas and New Year, traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for policing.

“Pausing training from December 1 to 31 January will also ensure frontline officers are available for their core policing duties during this time,” said Police Scotland.

“The current intake of 200 probationers, who took their oath of office on September 20, will finish their training at Tulliallan on December 8 and will then be deployed to their divisions.

“No offers to candidates for the postponed January intake have yet been made and the application process will continue for next year.”

David Kennedy, general secretary of the SPF, said: “The announcement by Police Scotland that no recruitment will take place until April 2024 is shocking.

“We expect a larger than normal number to retire in the last quarter of this year because of changes to the pension scheme so we are likely to see hundreds of officers less than we have now. We are already almost 1,000 down on the 2013 number (the year Police Scotland was created) so it is no exaggeration to say we are facing a public safety crisis.

“The Scottish government simply has to find more money for policing and do it now.”

Police Scotland has been clear about “hard choices” being taken to maintain effective policing within the funding available. The service has already been required to reduce the budgeted officer establishment this year from 17,234 to 16,600.

Deputy Chief Constable Designate Fiona Taylor said: “I have been clear that we will continue to communicate about the hard choices being taken to maintain effective policing within the funding available.

“As I outlined during the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) board meeting in September, we have been closely assessing the officer recruitment profile for 2023/24 and I have now taken the decision to re-profile the planned intakes over the rest of the year by postponing the January course.

“Despite the funding pressures we’re facing, communities should be reassured that we are doing everything possible to direct resources to areas which encounter the greatest demand, and which carry the greatest risk, and that we continue to effectively reduce harm and protect the vulnerable.”

Ms Taylor updated the SPA board at the end of last month about the urgent action being taken prioritise resources and protect the vulnerable while the organisation worked to achieve savings.

Police Scotland and the SPA provided a joint submission to the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee as part of the pre-budget scrutiny process. This submission contains some estimates of police officer and staff numbers should future budgets be “flat cash”.

The Scottish government’s budget for 2023/24 confirmed an £80 million core funding uplift for policing, with £37 million required to fund the ongoing cost of the 2022/23 pay award, leaving £43 million to fund unavoidable pay and other inflationary costs for the current financial year.