Huge rise in court warrants piles pressure on Police Scotland

Police Scotland has recorded a 22 per cent increase in warrants received from 2023 to 2025, with more than 10,000 still waiting to be executed across the country.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) said the issue is having a “direct and damaging impact on policing capacity”, while opposition MSPs said it shows that the justice system is at “breaking point”.

In a report to the Scottish Police Authority’s (SPA) policing performance committee, Assistant Chief Constable Wendy Middleton admitted it is becoming “increasingly difficult” for officers to keep pace with the number of warrants they are expected to pursue.

But the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said prosecutors only seek warrants “where necessary and appropriate” in the interests of justice.

And the Scottish government said it has invested a record £1.64 billion in policing in 2025/26, with the issuing of warrants a matter “for the independent courts”.

The crisis is revealed today (January 8) in the latest edition of justice publication, 1919 Magazine.

David Kennedy, SPF general secretary, said there is a “direct and damaging impact on policing capacity and on the service communities receive every day”.

“Each warrant represents officer time abstracted from local policing, prevention work and visible community presence, and instead diverted into repeated attempts to trace, arrest, convey and then repeatedly attend court,” he said.

“Frontline officers are already stretched thin. They are being asked to absorb the consequences of systemic delays, non-attendance at court, and wider social instability, all while police numbers have fallen significantly since 2013.

“The reality is simple: more warrants, fewer officers, and no additional capacity is an unsustainable equation.

“Without meaningful, system-wide reform and realistic workforce planning, officers will continue to be pulled away from communities to service a growing backlog that they did not create – and the public will ultimately pay the price.”

New figures show that the number of warrants received by Police Scotland rose from 25,665 in 2023 to 31,367 in 2025, an increase of 22 per cent.

In a report to the SPA’s policing performance committee, Ms Middleton highlighted how this is having a detrimental impact on officers.

“The issuing of a warrant will often result in a hearing being adjourned, witnesses dismissed to be recited, and a general duplication of effort to reconvene court proceedings,” she wrote.

“This increases the number of citations to be served on members of the public, as well as an increase in the time spent in court for police officers.

“Delays in court procedures can also see evidence diminish over time, such as first-hand witness accounts.

“It places direct demand on frontline officers who are required to trace accused persons and apprehend them.

“This can involve extensive enquiries to locate individuals especially those individuals who are intent on evading arrest or simply because of the lifestyle an individual leads.

“Ultimately, it places direct demand on frontline officers and abstracts them from other policing duties within local communities.”

Scottish Labour’s justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill told 1919 Magazine that the government must listen to the warnings.

“Scotland’s entire justice system – from frontline policing to courts to prisons – is at breaking point under the SNP,” she said.

“We need to work across our public services to understand and address the causes of no-shows in courts and ensure that our bail system is working as it must.”

Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Liam Kerr added:  “This is the product of a justice system which has been starved of resources and attention from government ministers. It’s one under-pressure area inadvertently putting pressure on another.

“As usual, it all then falls on officers to chase up warrants and then sacrifice their hard-pressed time attending court over and again.

“Police officers are rightly questioning how bad things have to get before they receive the support they need.”

A spokesperson for the COPFS told 1919: “Prosecutors seek warrants only where necessary and appropriate, in line with legal requirements and the interests of justice.

“In every case it is for the court to decide whether or not to grant a warrant. COPFS works closely with Police Scotland and the courts to ensure that warrants are properly managed.”

And a Scottish government spokesperson said: “The issuing of warrants is for the independent courts and the execution of warrants is a matter for Police Scotland, who remain focused on the investigation of crime and keeping our communities safe.

“Our police perform a vital role keeping Scotland’s communities safe, which is why we have invested a record £1.64 billion for policing in 2025/26.

“Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales and this continues to be a safe place to live, with recorded crime falling by half since 1991.”