MSP highlights case of beat officers being removed

10th April 2015

Highlands & Islands MSP, David Stewart has highlighted that he has now evidence that the cull of Police Support Staff has had a direct impact on the role of the front line Police Officer.

Since the inception of Police Scotland on 1 April 2013, Police Scotland was tasked with delivering £64 million of efficiency savings in the first year of operation. This target was achieved, but at what cost?

Officer numbers have remained stable but civilian jobs have been cut dramatically. There have also been changes to opening times at the country's 214 local police station counters with many closures and the number of control rooms are to be reduced to five.

An SPA 2014, report states: "The Police Reform process expected total net savings of £1.1 billion by 2026. The service has already delivered savings of £8.7m in 2012/13 and further savings of £63.9m in 2013/14.

“The cumulative full-year effect of these savings already exceeds the target cost reductions of £1.1 billion by 2026. We will exceed the expected level of reform savings by 2026."

Speaking today David Stewart said “ For the past two years I have said that the massive cull in Support Staff would have a direct impact on the service provided by the Police. Consistently I have been told that this was not the case and no front line officers were engaged in roles previously carried out by Support Staff. I recently learned that there was a big reduction in civilian Firearms Field Officers in the North East of Scotland and front line officers were being employed on routine firearms enquiry work to help those left behind”.

“ I lodged a Freedom of Information request to seek clarity around this claim. It transpires that on 1 April 2012 within Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray there were 10 civilian Firearms Field Officer employed. This figure reduced to six the following year and on the 1 April 2015 this figure reduced further to two. Within this Division I am now advised that there are now five Police Officers engaged in a full time capacity dealing with firearms related matters”.

“In the Highlands & Islands there are no civilian Firearms Field Officers employed, so all firearms field work is carried out by operational Officers.

“David Stewart went on “ I am further advised that Police Scotland are also currently training a significant number of Police Officers who will augment and support full time Firearms Enquiry Officers in the delivery of this service throughout Scotland”.

“ If this is the current situation in the North and North East it must be fair to assume it is the case across Scotland. So we now know that culling the Police Support Staff to the extent that has been carried out has been a retrograde step and we are back to the position of Policing in the late 70’s and early 80’s when Police Officers are engaged in roles that should be carried out by Support Staff. So the Police have met the targets for financial cuts so far, but little cognisance has been taken, or seems to have been taken, of the impact”.

In conclusion David Stewart said “In the foreword of the Police Scotland Annual Policing Plan for 2014/2015 the Chief Constable states:

The creation of Police Scotland has been the biggest change to Scottish policing in more than a generation. In our second year, we will continue to maintain our focus on keeping people safe.

“ I would have thought that deploying Police Officers on the front line was the way to do that, allowing them to exercise their training and skills to do so, not by culling Support Staff and taking Police Officers off the beat to do back office roles and jobs that Support Staff were trained to do and did well.”.