Police Scotland welcomes 300 new constables
Three hundred new recruits were sworn into the office of constable at Police Scotland on Thursday, (November 10).
Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone QPM welcomed the probationary constables during a ceremony at Police Scotland’s headquarters in Tulliallan.
Police Scotland said it has increased recruitment in response to lower officer numbers as a result of training delays due to Covid-19 and the COP26 climate change summit, together with increased retirals resulting from changes to pension arrangements.
Sir Iain said: “This is a significant day for our newest officers and their families. I’m grateful to everyone who steps forward to take on the responsibilities and duties of a police officer to serve our communities.
“It is a demanding but hugely rewarding vocation and the oath of office ceremony is an important opportunity for me to welcome them into the service.
“I ask them to police as they would wish their own families to be policed – with high standards and with our values of integrity, fairness and respect, and a commitment to uphold human rights at the heart of all we do.”
Earlier this month, figures showed police numbers in Scotland were at their lowest level in almost 14 years.
There were 16,570 full-time equivalent officers, down by 662 since the end of September 2021.
The new intake comprised 184 males and 116 females, with the youngest probationer being 18 years old, and the oldest aged 55 .
Nine per cent of the probationers (27 officers) identify as minority ethnic.
Of the new recruits, eight were previously members of police staff with Police Scotland, five previously served as special constables, and 22 probationary constables have previously served in the military.
Police Scotland said languages spoken fluently by recruits include Polish, French, Urdu, Gaelic, Greek, Arabic, Dutch, Slovakian, Swedish, German, Italian, Farsi, Spanish, Romanian, Welsh, Afrikaans and BSL.